


Naruto!Boys Canon X Reader Scenarios

by S_ilentBunster



Category: Naruto
Genre: Cannon, F/M, Falling In Love, Fights, First Dates, First Kiss, First Meetings, Love Confessions, My First Fanfic, Narutoverse, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:22:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27386389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S_ilentBunster/pseuds/S_ilentBunster
Summary: ---------------Things in your life haven't been the greatest, far from it. Everyone in your life is brutally pulled away from you, grasped by the hand of death, and you've lost reason to live...Things never went your way from birth, but in these scenarios you find someone to focus on, a special person to lean on when your down, who accepts you for who you are...I know it's cliché to have a sad backstory.---------------
Relationships: Gaara (Naruto) & Reader, Hatake Kakashi & Reader, Inuzuka Kiba & Reader, Nara Shikamaru & Reader, ShotaTheOC, Uchiha Sasuke & Reader, Uzumaki Naruto & Original Character(s), Uzumaki Naruto & Reader
Kudos: 3





	1. The Narutoverse

**Author's Note:**

> \----------------
> 
> "They are here, they are watching you, they're waiting for you to realise, all you have to do is look."
> 
> "Sometimes, silence is the greatest gift we are given."
> 
> "Don't be ashamed of a weakness, everyone is weak in a way."
> 
> "Being open-minded isn't accepting everything, its seeing the other person as human."
> 
> \---------------

Towering trees bent-over at odd-angles surrounded you in this vast forest. The melancholy moon shone down in dismay, mocking your loneliness with it's pale rays. You could feel your emotions building up, hot tears filling your vacant eyes as you quickly close them shut, trying to prevent the oncoming outburst.  
  
You wouldn't cry, because today you didn't deserve the relief of tears.  
  
Everyone you cared for was gone, now you're a shell of the person you used to be. They were killed while you obliviously frolicked around trying to fit in, while you tried to hide from the truth with a long practiced façade .  
  
Everyone goes through pain. It's the most normal thing. It's more important to push past, right?  
  
But what if that pain is something no-one can recover from?  
  
This grief was more than overwhelming, it was haunting. It's what you hate most about being a human. To feel is to endure pain. For as long as you've lived that's all you've been doing, tolerating, pushing through and being resilient, to a point where you didn't realise you were falling through, sinking and fed up.  
  
If there's a way to escape the maze of your mind you'd take it, but you're trapped in thick darkness, surrounded by cold fog.  
  
Forced to wait more, to face more with a mask of bravado-  
  
-The distant sound of howling could be heard, the rustling of creatures reaching your deaf ears-  
  
-Where were you? What was this place?  
  
But...does it really matter? Do you really care? Is it worth panicking over?  
  
The curiosity you used to explore doesn't flare like it used to; you're tired of trying, tired of life. It had ended up sucking you up anyway, you knew it would happen one day.   
  
Your world had left you.   
  
The tacky, second-hand world you tried so hard to forge.  
  
Your mind instantly thought back to the home with your mother and father.  
  
A hysterical laugh-cry escaped your dry throat.  
  
Why were you thinking of them now?  
  
Lifting your hand up to your necklace, you grasp it tightly to check if it was still there.  
  
Surely, the cold, claw-shaped metal stood unharmed. Every corner was shining, shimmering in the moonlight to remind you that it could never come off. Your own permanent curse, lying in wait around your neck for the moment it could be used.  
  
This would always be your burden, another challenge to struggle through.  
  
Traitor tears leave your eyes as you bite on your bottom lip, chewing out your frustration.  
  
It was a power, your grandfather told you. An ancient Japanese legend.  
  
It was a gift, he said. From the heavens.   
  
You were chosen....  
  
But that was a lie to make you feel better about your sealed fate, a mere mirage you preferred to believe in.  
  
The truth is it's trapped you, like a hanging noose around your neck.  
  
No-one knew the power a meagre necklace could hold, no-one would ever believe the truth. Your own parents believed it was merely a piece of jewellery and the _lies_ , you won't believe the lies you told them.  
  
Pain and regret filled you as you thought of their lifeless bodies on the floor. Their hollowed out eyes. Their mouths ajar as if telling you to run.  
  
This power you were 'chosen' for, so many people wanted it, so they came to take it.  
  
The only person in the world you could confide in was your Grandfather, who trained you hard to be a shinobi.  
  
A shinobi.....an emotionless ninja.   
  
In the real world of 2020 which you were living in, shinobi's didn't exist....  
  
Or people thought they didn't. There were shows and cartoons depicting them (e.g. Naruto), but people don't believe things they haven't seen. So you lived in secret as a normal person, that's when you were happy. Today, what had happened woke you up from your hallucination.   
  
Your grandfather....  
  
He died years ago on the battlefield. He was your light who taught you to stick to the shadows, the only person who truly knew you. The most amazing man to walk the earth and the strongest Shinobi to ever exist.  
  
Your mother (his child) and father died just today, or could it be yesterday?  
  
Ever since you were young there was a fight over who deserved the power of the necklace, a scuffle among the secretive Ninjas of the modern world on how to extract such a power from a small girl. But nothing stayed under wraps, and an enemy Shinobi group is always lurking carefully.  
  
Things don't always go smoothly, and on an ordinary day you were kidnapped for the sole purpose of awakening your 'power'.  
  
Most of the people discussing your fate were gentle since you were little and innocent, but within the camp you were shunned, beaten to a pulp to become 'stronger'.  
  
Your hands drift over your covered arms as you trace the yet-to-be healed properly scars.  
  
You close your eyes, remembering how you'd train until dusk alone....but they were still there, watching you.  
  
To this very day, the feeling of being watched haunts you.  
  
You'd hear them saying things about you. These enemy shinobi not only took pride in being able to separate you from your family, but also enjoyed toying with your sanity.  
  
After a while you believed them, nothing mattered at that point because you were stuck for so long in one place, paralysed and numb.  
  
But everything changed.  
  
Over years you spent on the brink of falling through, your grandfather had assembled all the shinobi he could in hopes of one day defeating the group that'd kidnapped his granddaughter, and the day finally came when there was only one member of the organisation left, and you were safely back with your family.  
  
The last remaining Ninja spent years running, then he chose to do the most despicable thing before he was killed.  
  
You remember his still body, blood dripping, lying on your kitchen floor, alongside your parents.  
He had killed himself.  
To escape you before you came home.  
  
(flashback)  
  
_Finishing deliveries for the day, you were walking towards your families bakery. You remembered the eerie silence as you walked through the door.  
Ping!  
The door's little bell went off as you entered. You were primarily surprised to see your mother wasn't there, as she usually greeted you.  
  
Your instinct kicked in as you walked further into the apartment.  
  
Through the ground, you could feel 3 bodies, one your moms, one your dads, and one was someone you didn't know._  
  
_There was no movement, completely still.  
  
You knew what it meant. _  
  
_Trying to keep your knee's from giving out, you ran. Your blurred and flickering vision leading you to their bodies on the cold kitchen floor. Your necklace started to burn grazing your neck insignificantly. You felt your fingernails grow and eyes recede backwards so they were tilted upwards. The back of your head grew two white ears, and your back was burning, a snowy tail slipping out. Blood dripped out of your teeth as they grew, then  
  
Then  
  
Then...a white light._  
  
(end of flashback)  
  
A bright white.  
  
It shone.  
  
A small dot at first, until it covered your whole being, filling everything in sight. You were held in a purgatory-like white prison for a second, until you broke through and ended up here...this unknown place...….  
  
You could feel vibrations suddenly.  
  
Human footsteps towards you.  
  
You were too tired to even conceal your chakra, too tired....  
  
A shadow loomed over you, staring down at you. You could feel their eyes on you as your lids pulled down.   
You gave into the blackness, an unfriendly blackness that involuntarily took you away from the world.  
  
At least.....that's what you thought.

* * *

**Ok. that's the end of the chapter, hope you guys enjoyed it.  
(EDIT: This was made so long ago it's terrible, so I re-did it and I hope you guys can understand it better now)  
The chapters with the love interests are coming up  
The love interests are:**

* * *

  * **Shikamaru**
  * **Naruto**
  * **Kiba**
  * **Sasuke**
  * **Kakashi**
  * **Gaara**



**This story starts from when they're twelve and goes into shippuden.  
I will take requests for another book of oneshots, (click [here](https://www.quotev.com/story/12208755/Naruto-Oneshots-X-Reader) to request, leave them in the comments or message me) and I will be doing specials (e.g. modern AU, soulmate AU).   
The chapters from here on out will be longer.  
Add this to your library and comment, I enjoy seeing what you think.**


	2. Where the hell?

**Uzumaki Naruto's Route….Meeting**  
  
"Heyyyyy, hellooo, anyone thereee, I know your not dead, c'monnnn!"   
  
You shot up like some one had pricked you in the back with a needle.  
  
Why did this person sound so close to yo-  
  
"Huh?" The boy was pretty fast, but not fast enough as your head shot up, knocking him square in the jaw.   
  
"Owwww! what was that for?!"  
  
You opened your eyes to come face to face with a slightly tanned boy.  
  
His hair was golden like the sun, his sky blue eyes clouded with happiness as he looked at you, almost bursting with joy from just seeing you awake. He had stripes on his face, matched with an orange jumpsuit that made you inwardly cringe.  
  
Everything about him shouted 'I'm a tiger'.  
  
He was so happy at you being awake, immediately blabbering about stuff you didn't really care about, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki...….I like ramen.....Do you like ramen? anyway....." You only picked up on half of the things he said,".... and I'm going to be the next Hokage, believe it!!!"  
  
Hoka...ge   
  
You knew that word.  
  
"Is this Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves, and is the Hokage called Sarutobi?!" Your question tumbled out of your lips before you would stop it and consider your situation.  
  
The Hokage...  
  
You looked down at your chest area, eyes locked to your necklace which was hanging out in the open, like a sign.  
  
This was it.   
  
You were finally going to find out where you were from, where your grandfather began.  
  
Eyes swimming as you tried to hold back tears, you attempted to make eye contact with him while speaking, pulling out your necklace to show.  
  
Suddenly his face went a pale colour, staring at our necklace. "You're.....you're,"   
  
You knew it.  
  
He seemed all _nice_ and _friendly._  
  
It was all a lie from the start, as soon as he'd realised you weren't who he thought-  
  
"You're.... who're you?"  
  
Staring, you looked at him in shock.  
  
Seriously?  
  
You were practically skipping with joy, maybe.....just maybe you could be normal again in this world.  
  
You softly gaze at him, holding out your hand, "My names (Y/n) (L/n), you can call me (Y/n), glad to meet you, Naruto,"  
  
He stared at your hand in shock, no-one had ever offered him to shake hands before. After all, he was the nine-tailed fox spirit, though he didn't know the truth yet.  
  
No-one had spoken to him in such a soft tone.  
  
"Hey, (Y/n), I'm not allowed to bring stranger to the village, actually, I'm not allowed to be out of the village," He scratched the back of his head with his other hand as he reached out to shake yours.  
  
His finger made contact.   
  
You felt a spark.  
  
Instead of pulling back, you smiled wider at him, replying, "I....they'll let me in, I have nowhere to go, also," You showed him the necklace, "Let the guards see my necklace, its a Konoha treasure,"   
  
"Woah....seriously? Wait....now I remember! It was in a textbook, ya know!" He said pulling back from the handshake.   
  
"Hm, can you trust me now?"   
  
Coming close to your face, until your noses were touching, he offered you a grin,  
"I trusted you from the moment I saw you!"  
  
 **Sasuke Uchiha....Meeting**  
  
Your eyelids were heavy, your breaths laboured while your mouth dried up. There was fuzziness in your ears, the same kind of sound when the TV loses connection.  
  
You weren't lying on the ground anymore, the soft grass that you had slept upon was replaced by a different feeling, the feeling of warm, comforting and skinny-ish arms.  
  
You did the logical thing in that situation, you pretended you hadn't awoken in the first place. Sure enough, judging from this strangers light footsteps as he trudged through the forest, he was a shinobi. Of course you were, but you weren't about to let him know you were awake. That could get dangerous and you weren't in the best shape, if you were going down it had to be with a fight....  
  
You thought back to how you had gotten there.  
  
As the realisation hit you, a scream escaped your lips, remembering the events that led to you being there.  
  
A twelve year old boy, the same age as you who was barely taller stumbled back while you fell onto the floor.   
  
On your hands and knees, you took deep breaths, body shaking.  
  
He leaned closer, cautiously yet curiously.  
  
He heard the words escape your lips as you lay on the ground, "Dad...." You choked, "Mom.." You couldn't say anything else, it was too painful....  
  
You could feel his eyes on you as you reached your hands up to your necklace. That was the reason, the reason they were gone. The necklace.  
  
It was almost strangling you, stopping you from breathing.  
  
You felt the cold metal as your hands drifted around it.  
  
"You...." An unfamiliar, cold voice rang out. It belonged to the Uchiha, "Yo-"   
  
You looked up at the boy, hiding your necklace effectively as you stood up, still stumbling.  
  
Trying to get a hold on your emotions that were almost always in check, you swallowed back the oncoming wave of tears, glaring at him with hollow eyes.  
  
"Shut up", Your voice was even and monotone as you spoke, mirroring his.  
  
He stared at you in fascination.  
  
Your (skin colour) was very uncommon, not like the people of Konoha's.  
  
His eyes narrowed, but he could tell you weren't a threat or an enemy, he would've sensed it.  
  
You looked back at him with no emotion. Dead.   
  
Suddenly, your necklace seared, burning your skin.  
  
Hissing, you clutched it.  
  
A familiar face entered your mind. (yes u see visions lol).  
  
"Saru….tobi…Konoha?" He may not have heard half of your mumblings but he knew he heard those two, you continued, "Necklace....burn....he....hokage....will....help...." Your last word came out as a choke as your head pounded and your vision blackened.  
  
He swiftly caught you before you fell, holding onto you bridal style as he jumped his way back to his hometown. Through his shirt, you could hear his heartbeat, the even thumps giving you peace of mind.  
  
He caught sight of your necklace, shimmering. The...treasure of Konoha, the one that had been missing since....12 years ago  
  
How were you.....?  
  
He had time to ask and get answers later though, for now, had to bring you back to Konoha.  
  
If he had to be honest, he knew that wasn't really the only reason he was bringing you, he wanted to find out...about your Mom and Dad, there was a possibility that you were like him.  
  
Smirking, inaudible words left his lips....  
  
"What an interesting girl."  
  
 **Sabaku No Gaara.....You feel his pain....(meeting comes later)**  
  
All alone.  
Alone.   
Stranded.  
Just you, in one huge, towering forest.   
Nobody else there. They were all gone.   
  
They were all gone because of you. It was your fault. **You were a monster** , not them, after all. They didn't even know, oblivious and innocent, that's what your parents were. It wasn't even the enemy shinobis fault, as much as you wanted to blame them.   
  
It was your fault.  
  
They were gone, they had loved you, they had cared for you, they had _wanted_ and _needed_ you. It felt so nice to be needed by someone for once in your life. Now they were gone, because of your lies, because of your secrets, because of _you_.   
  
Worst of all, they trusted you, and you let them down. The same way you'd let down your grandfather.  
  
You sat in a state of reflection, deep inside the dark forest.   
  
Were you forever going to be like this, anyone who came near you, you had hurt.  
Everything you touched slipped through your fingers like sand.  
  
...Sand.   
  
An image of a person you didn't know came into your mind. He had blood-red hair and light, pale skin to contrast dark, black rings around his eyes. His teal, aqua eyes seemed to pierce you. His face was a state of emotionless as he stared at you.   
  
Feeling attacked, you blinked to get the image out of your head, but you couldn't shake the feeling he was watching you.  
  
Your necklace began to glow, but instead of searing your skin then healing it, it gave you a sense of peace and calmness. Following the tranquillity, you walked dreamily towards where it was leading you. It had never given you a feeling like this, the curiosity was only too much.  
  
It was so quiet as you walked through the forest, not a animal or person in sight.  
  
It was like a dreamland.  
  
You wrapped your hands around it gently as it told you to keep walking straight.  
  
Until a light came into sight.  
  
You thought of the boy you had seen earlier. Was this some sort of sign?  
Now you were running, not caring where it went, just wondering if the boy was there.  
  
You came to a halt, blinking as you took in your surroundings.  
  
A tall, reinforced wall stood, the word ,'Konoha', in big letters on it.   
  
The Hidden Leaf, your grandfathers village.  
  
You stared at it.  
  
So...this was where the torment started.   
  
You clutched the necklace as you entered the village, approaching the Chunin guards at the entrance.  
  
You were ready, ready to learn who and what you were.  
The strength you were feeling was immense as you thought about your life up until then.  
  
This was, for _once_ , the _right_ path. You were sure of it.  
  
 **Kiba Inuzuka.....Meeting**  
  
You felt many peoples eyes on you before you'd blacked out, the weird thing was, when you had woke up none of them had moved.   
  
You'd expected to come into range with dangerous people but all you could hear was arguing and sniffing.  
  
Wait....sniffing?  
  
You felt a big, wet tongue lick the left side of your face and happy barking.  
  
...A dog.   
  
With all your strength while the people were arguing, you sat up to see why the dog was trying to get your attention.  
  
Instantly, you were worried, you had always been a animal lover.  
  
The dog happily painted your clenched fist with its saliva when you held your hand out.  
  
You smiled at the dog, your lips quivering. He was white, small, and happily gathering in your arms, oblivious to your pain.  
  
"I say we take her back!" The loud one shouted, his teeth kinda pointing. He had a faint resemblance of a beast in your opinion, but you weren't about to say something when they hadn't even noticed you.   
  
"Kiba, quit making things hard, such a drag, I say we leave her, she might be heavy.." A stern and annoyed voice cut through the angry ones protests. The one with the furry hood just pouted and turned to look at you, a smile painting his lips in an attempt to look a little bit more gentle.   
  
By now, the dog was settled happily in your lap, wagging its tail contently.  
  
"See, Akamaru likes her. He never just warms up to people like that!" His argument seemed like a good one, as the annoyed one's eyebrow twitched.  
  
Breathing out heavily, he sighed, "I guess we can take her, but you're carrying her,"   
  
"Yippee!" The owner of the dog called Akamaru turned to you, bending down and signalling for you to climb onto him.  
  
Uncomfortable, you shifted awkwardly. They hadn't even graduated from the academy yet, they didn't have their leaf bands wrapped around them, they probably couldn't even jump, but you were seriously tired. It was like your body had been ripped apart then put back together.  
  
You turned to see your bag was still on your back. 

He seemed to notice your delay and also realised you had a bag with you, but before he could take it off, you pulled out a leaf headband out and your phone.  
  
You stared at the screen, feeling emptiness.   
  
"You're a leaf ninja!" He gasped as he stared at you.   
  
"Sorta," You typed 911's number in, holding the phone to your ear and hoping it would work.  
  
"Hello police" the ladies voice spoke.  
  
It was on speaker...  
  
Kiba stared at you in shock.  
  
"Its an emergency," you said as the ladies voice hitched.  
  
"What? Tell me where and who you are!" She sounded professional.  
  
"A double murder where the killer took his life," You said calmly.  
  
"My name is (Y/n), my parents were killed in their bakery on (street name) and I think I've just travelled to Naruto! Shonen jump series. If you can't find me, that's the only possibility, or I'm dead with my parents and I somehow bought my phone with me...." As the word parents left your mouth a tear dropped down without you realising. Tasting the salt, you shook your head, catching sight of Kiba.   
  
He was super confused.  
  
Suddenly, you felt your phone being snatched away by none other than him. Sniffling and trying to stop tears from overflowing, you attempt being strong to try and get it back, but there's no point.  
  
Kiba could barely make out your words, but from what you were saying before he kinda had a grasp of the situation.  
  
Feeling bad, he began reaching out to you.  
  
Your hand moved without thinking as it slapped his away.   
  
He frowned, turning away.  
  
"Come on then, lets get going," His tone held a gentleness, "Akamaru!"   
  
Akamaru's ears lifted as scrambled out of your arms, hopping on Kiba's head.  
  
"Lets go!" He said sternly before turning to you, "You better keep up!" Unlike before, now he wore a big grin.  
  
Secretly, you smiled through your tears.   
  
**Kakashi Hatake....Meeting**  
  
Dead inside.  
  
You were dead inside.  
  
You felt like someone had just stabbed a hole through you and you were sure it would never heal.  
  
Everything was normal, you were normal, you had loved your mother and father unconditionally like any other person did, you did everything normally, the only thing unnormal was your past....and wasn't it in the _past_?  
  
Doesn't the saying go "Your past _doesn't_ define your future"?  
  
You sighed as you basked in the darkness surrounding you.  
  
Lying there, your mind filled with memories of all the people you _had_ loved throughout your lifetime. Had being the key word, they weren't alive anymore. No-one you had loved lived to see today.  
  
As the harsh-reality hit you, a heart-wrenching cry left your lips.  
  
Screaming out your frustration, hot-angry tears slid down your face.  
  
Everyone close to you....everyone who loved you back....they were all gone.   
  
You were alone.  
  
Your parents were together somewhere, probably staring down at your helpless state, praying that you'd make it through this.  
  
You imagined your mother and father and father exchanging worried glances across the table when you were being difficult or secretive, were they still doing that from wherever they both were?  
  
You wiped your eyes, the hotness that your face gave off prickling your skin.  
  
Suddenly, you felt the hairs on your neck stand up, quickly wiping your eyes and pulling something you hid in your bag for emergency situations..  
  
 _Thwack!_  
  
Tree. Damn you had missed.  
  
 _You were aiming for the head._  
  
Slowly, a man with unruly bed-hair and a bored look came out of the bushes, holding his hands up in a surrendering position. You could see a thin line of sweat drip down his face as his masked lips curved into a shy smile.  
  
"Hey there friend..." Huh? Who's his friend? Was he talking to _you_? "Judging from that screaming earlier, you aren't a ninja," He spoke in a friendly tone as he offered you a masked smile.....  
  
Mentally groaning, you realised he _was_ talking to you.  
  
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed as he pierced you with a dead serious look. That was a serious change in attitude, "But judging from your kunai knife techniques, I'd say otherwise," He added slyly.  
  
You smiled, two could play at the nasty-nice game.  
  
Turning around, you stood up to face him.  
  
"You...you're," He found himself unable to breath almost as he stared at you, more specifically at your necklace.   
  
"That's right, seems like you know, I'm the cat spirit," Your voice held no trace of your earlier pain, it was like it had been washed away.   
  
His eyes travelled down to your waist as he eyed your leaf ninja sash.  
  
He knew you were the real thing.  
  
"Come on then," He spoke with only sarcastic humour as he turned around, jumping up to the trees.  
  
You turned too, ignoring the strain you were putting on your body as you followed suite.  
  
"Hmm, what a mess I've gotten myself into..." He spoke while he looked at you out of the corner of his eye, expecting a reaction.  
  
You gave him nothing.  
  
Kakashi Hatake.  
  
You'd heard of him, what an interesting guy.....  
  
 **Shikamaru Nara.....Meeting**  
  
He was on a walk. A normal and peaceful walk. Such a _beautiful_ walk, such a _calm_ and _undisturbed_ walk.....  
  
So why the _heck_ was he interrupted.  
  
He stared down at your unconscious body, unsure of what to do. He hadn't even graduated, what was he supposed to do? Wasn't this the ANBU's job? Why weren't they doing their jobs?  
  
Lazy fuckers. Not like he couldn't relate though.  
  
He stared a little longer at your face, noticing your beautiful (hair colour) framing a (face shape). You were so pretty.  
  
He felt himself blushing.  
  
Why was he thinking of that right now?  
Why was he thinking that about someone he didn't even know?  
Why was he thinking that at all?  
  
You stirred, pain filling every muscle you moved.  
  
Scrunching up your eyes, you immediately attempted sitting up, while Shikamaru tried to regain his poker, lazy-guy face. You felt your body ache with every movement, as your left hand pressed onto the jagged rock under you, only to realise you were on a hard patch of grass.   
  
Unable to adjust in time, you lost your grip and fell.  
  
Bracing yourself for impact, you screwed up your eyes, but never met the cold floor.  
  
You felt arms cushion your fall as you opened your eyes slowly, trying to adjust them to the light/ You stared right at your saviours face.  
  
He.....looked like a pineapple?  
  
You rubbed your eyes instantly, wondering what was wrong with you.  
  
What were you seeing?  
  
You opened them again, coming face to face with a boy around your age, holding you awkwardly while blushing and looking away. Feeling an unfamiliar heat rising in your own cheeks, you quickly pulled away, putting some distance between you two.  
  
"Sorry" You immediately apologised as you stared at his face, mesmerised by his whole style.  
  
He was kinda...funny.  
  
He suddenly looked as if he was on guard.  
  
You wondered where you were.  
  
He was definitely a shinobi, like you, but only at academy level, so basically useless.   
  
You stood slowly, legs shaking as you attempted to stand straight, you weren't going to fall this time.  
  
He stared at you, reaching towards his pouch in case you attacked.  
  
You stumbled forward but regained your posture. As your leg fell forward, your necklace came into view, shining and glinting in the sunlight as it spinned crazily.  
  
His breath hitched.  
  
Who on _earth_ were you?  
  
He found the story of your necklace interesting, so he read up on it,  
  
You were the girl it went missing with?  
  
He stared at your vulnerable state, unable to believe you were capable of such a power he'd heard of.  
  
He quickly shook off the thought when you dusted your clothes.  
  
You looked up, finally having gotten your bearings.  
  
"I'm from Konoha, the leaf village," He turned his face away from you as he spoke, trying to ignore your suddenly harsh glare.  
  
Kono...ha?  
You knew it....  
That place.  
  
You frowned as he turned back, eyeing your necklace, "And I believe you're something they want"

* * *

**To be continued...…  
Ignore the fact Naruto isn't allowed out of the village, let's just say he snuck out.**


	3. The Hokage And Her

**Uzumaki Naruto's Route**  
  
Jumping with your remaining stamina, you followed the yellow ball of energy as he explained Konoha to you.  
At some point you had exchanged names.  
  
"Soooo, where are you from?"   
The topic finally surfaced.  
  
You looked down at the forest beneath you, ignoring his curious gaze while thinking about your old life.  
  
"I don't know anymore," Trying to stop your voice from cracking, you gave him a straight answer.  
  
No sign of sadness could be detected as he examined your face with squinted eyes.  
  
"I'm sure you'll like Konoha, even if it doesn't like you! Prove your worth to them!" Stunned, you stared at him while he smiled lopsidedly, "THATS WHY IMMA BE THE HOKAGE, BELIEVE IT!"  
  
He pointed his left thumb to himself, grinning like the Cheshire cat.  
  
You couldn't stop a smile pulling at the corner of your lips as your eyes suddenly found light ahead.   
  
Bringing yourself to a stop, you stared at the huge entrance of Konoha.  
  
Suddenly, your nerves re-appeared.  
  
You felt a firm and warm hand envelope your small, cold one.  
  
Naruto was perfectly aware of what he was doing as he blushed like a tomato, not even trying to hide it, "You looked nervous!...and it's basically a different form of a handshake!" He quickly added the last part as you felt blood rush into your face. Were you guys actually holding hands???  
  
"If you don't like it I'll -," Stammering nervously, he hesitantly began retracting his hand. This was the first time he'd tried to touch someone like this, no-one really came close enough to him to get to touch him.  
  
Smiling at him and happy he was holding hands with you, you squeezed his hand to prevent him from pulling away any further.  
  
Blowing out his held in breath, he relaxed visibly in your firm hold.  
  
He showed you a hole in the fence as you both crawled through. That was a serious security flaw.  
  
You quickly looked around an empty street, scanning your surroundings before jumping up, trying to get a better view.  
  
Your eyes zeroed on the Hokage's building.  
  
Instantly, you began jumping towards it, a new fire in your eyes as Naruto yelped, running after you like a lost puppy.  
  
(TIMESKIP)  
  
Naruto wrapped his hand in yours securely as you stood outside the huge doors to the Hokage's office. Luckily, he had known the guards and was able to bypass them since he was supposedly a frequent at this place.  
  
Breathing heavily, your left hand reached out to open the door, twisting the metallic handle.  
  
 _Click_  
  
The door opened.  
  
He stood there, as if he had been waiting for you.  
  
Sarutobi.....The hokage.  
  
He looked you up and down, smiling, "Young (Y/n)…..How you've grown,"   
  
Tears suddenly sprang at the corners of your eyes, tears you had tried so hard to prevent.  
  
"Sarutobi? I?...My parents?..!" Your words were strangled as they echoed throughout his office, filling every corner of the room.  
  
"Shhhh, its okay now," He quickly stood strides over to you, hugging you gently around the shoulders, offering you comfort.  
  
Your sobs filled the world as you cried for everything that had happened until now, Naruto gently giving reassuring squeezes to your hand which had never left his.  
  
"You've did well as the cat spirit," He whispered in your ear as you closed your eyes, trying to block out everything apart from his words.  
  
"People like you..." He looked over to Naruto for a second, "Aren't treated well here," He admitted, "We're going to tell the public,"  
  
Your breath hitched in your throat, how could he?  
  
but he continued despite seeing your face,  
  
"Never to fear, the people of Konoha will learn to accept you, although you should know jinjuriki's aren't treated well in any village, this is a new start, I know you can do it my dear," And he did know, he could feel how strong your chakra was, more than his.  
  
"You _will_ be _safe_ here,"  
  
Your legs gave out from exhaustion as your head hit Naruto's warm chest, a new start.....you would _finally_ be safe and have a place to call home....on these final thoughts, your vision darkened as you blacked out....  
  
 **Uchiha Sasuke's Route**  
  
Somewhere along the way to Konoha you had regained conscious, but still tired and defeated, continued to let the random stranger carry you to wherever he was going. If you were lucky, he was looking for a decent spot to kill you so no-one could find out, that's what you were hoping for anyway.  
  
He didn't look down at you as you examined his features, after flicking into consciousness for the umpteenth time.  
  
He had dark, onyx eyes, black, standy-up hair and pale skin to contrast them.   
People from your world would probably describe him as 'good looking'.  
  
You went onto his delicate nose as your eyes travelled down to his mouth, which was pulled into a permanent frown.  
  
You frowned.  
This guy was annoying, he was frowning like a douchebag, at _least_ your face was neutral most of the time.  
  
He looked down at you with a frown, but his eyes were laughing,  
"See something you like?" He teased you as the corners of his lips pulled up into a little smirk.  
  
Trying to stop an eye-roll, you smirked back, "You've got dirt on your nose,"   
  
His stupid smirk still didn't subside, although you were trying to annoy him.  
  
"Well, can you get it for me, I'm holding you, after all," His lips pulled up even further when he said this.  
  
Now it was your turn to frown, "Your nose...…."  
  
"Sasuke." He told you his name.  
  
"Yeah, Sasuke, your nose looks gross,"   
  
"…………...……"  
  
His smile was gone.  
  
(TIME SKIP)  
  
The guards didn't even bother checking you, they just let you through after seeing Sasuke's face.  
  
You were well into the village as he held you tighter to him, ignoring the funny looks people were giving him and walking straight towards one of the biggest buildings in the whole town.  
  
"SASUKE~" You heard two flirty voice ring to your left as two gorilla's....oops, they were girls.  
  
They both gasped seeing you in his arms.  
  
Glaring at you, they stepped aside briskly as he continued his journey towards the place which was presumably where the Hokage was.  
  
Peeking over his shoulder to see them but instantly regretting the movement as it made your ribs burn, you tiredly slumped against him.  
  
He stopped in front of a door.  
  
"Hey, girl-"   
  
"It's (Y/n)," You interrupted rudely, "You can put me down now."   
  
He let you down slowly, making sure little of your weight touched the ground so you wouldn't be in any pain. For such a rude guy, he was pretty considerate, not what you were expecting.  
  
You felt a slight bolt of pain but ignored it, not even flinching.  
  
Turning without a word to him, you opened the door to the Hokage's office.  
  
The Hokage stood, looking out of the window.  
  
Clearing your throat, you spoke calmly and evenly with no emotion, "(Y/n)(L/n), The cat spirit."  
  
You felt Sasuke's eyes widen as the Hokage rushedly turned around, eyes wide, "(Y/n)(L/n)? Really?," A tear dropped, but it was him who was crying, "Why? Why're you here? Your parents? Your grandfather?"   
  
You looked down, trying to keep your cool, "My parents and grandfather are dead, the Shinobi group defeated," You bitterly stated the truth, "I woke up here, in Konoha."   
  
He stared at you, "Your grandfathers also?....I see...I'm sorry but this will have to be told to the public, or if your power unleashes, the villagers would start riots on why we didn't tell them-."  
  
"That's fine, I'm used to being the outcast, there's also the nine-tailed fox jinjuriki, so I don't have to worry,"   
  
His gaze narrowed.  
  
You had become a lone wolf, even though he tried to prevent that from happening, but your unconcealed chakra was amazing, you had more than him, that was for sure. He looked over to Sasuke and thought about him and Naruto's so-called rivalry...  
  
This was sure to be an interesting pair.

 **Subaku No Gaara's Route**  
  
The guards looked at you in confusion as you stood blankly, thinking about the boy of your dreams. Wait- not literally the boy of your dreams!.....He was pretty handsome though....  
  
You shook your head frantically, trying to get rid of the image of his piercing teal eyes.  
  
You turned to the guards who looked back at you as if they were prepared for a fight.  
  
You cocked your head, letting go off your necklace to let them see what had led you there.  
  
Suddenly, they were going paler, examining it.  
  
The one on your left reached out with a shaky hand, touching it with the small of his finger.  
  
Glowing, the necklace burned away more of your skin along with the tip of his nail slightly.   
  
You hissed as you grasped at it in shock, waiting for the skin the to re-heal.  
  
You looked back up at their now petrified faces as if nothing had happened, while they realised you were the real thing.  
  
The cat spirit of Konoha.  
  
Both men hurriedly jumped out of their booths as ANBU took their places.  
  
They took positions on either side of you nervously, turning you towards the huge town and escorting you through the busy streets. People stared at you unwelcomingly as you were led towards a huge building.   
  
You imagine the red-head guy again.   
  
Why were you thinking of him?  
  
Shrinking under the glares of the townsfolk, you walked at a faster pace towards the big building, seeing as it was in range. Your body was cracking with every step you took. Seeing how large it was, it was probably a place for refugees like you. Then again, surely, a building _that_ big would belong to someone i _mportan_ t....The Hokage.  
  
You clicked as your eyebrows raised in surprise.  
  
Were you finally going to know?!  
  
You felt an ounce of hope spread throughout your being as you broke away from the two guards, who were already struggling to keep up with your pace.  
  
"HEY! YOU!" One of them shouted as you made your way through the streets towards the office.  
At the same time, you felt a boy push you as he ran past you, paint on his clothes as guards ran after him.  
  
"NARUTOOOOO!"   
  
You ignored the drama, what was more important was the Hokage.  
  
(TIME SKIP)  
  
You sat face to face with the Hokage, both of you having an awkwardly intense staring match.  
  
You weren't really getting along too well....  
  
It was mainly because   
1) You were immensely awkward  
2) Your entrance was being caught by the guards and he had to tell them to let you go.  
  
You were nervous, too.  
  
You had always been socially awkward and right now, you were seriously wishing the ground would open up and eat you, but that wouldn't solve anything, you'd just die without knowing. You _**had**_ to know.  
  
Making up your mind you looked up at him properly, determined to ask the questions overflowing your mind.   
  
Suddenly an image of your parents floated into your mind, your gaze faltered and your breath hitching in your throat. All in a space of 3 seconds, you realised the direness of your situation, your loneliness, everything again, like it was on replay.  
  
All you were able to manage was a small "Why?"  
  
He shook his head in dismay, "Your mother, father and grandfather, they must all be gone for you to be here...." His voice was slightly cracked as he spoke, "We have to release this to the public-"  
  
"I understand why," You spoke with a gentleness in your voice as you declared your statement.  
  
You understood things easily, after all, you spent your entire life observing thoughtfully and experiencing emotions.  
  
You understood emotions.  
  
Most of them, anyway.  
  
He smiled briefly as he looked at you with a fondness in his eyes.  
  
You were a thoughtful girl, at least you weren't interested in love like most girls your age.......yet.  
  
 **Inuzuka Kiba's Route**  
  
Kiba's furry hood blew in your face once again as you tried to shift your body weight so he wouldn't have to strain while jumping.  
  
You had been flying past the trees in silence ever since your little outburst.  
  
Needless to say, you felt bad for being rude earlier.  
  
You looked up, seeing the clouds disappear above you in a flurry of blue and white.  
  
Kiba looked straight ahead, not ignoring your presence altogether but yeah...ignoring you basically.  
  
He suddenly began free falling towards the ground, signalling for you to get off.  
  
You hadn't been able to see anything from behind his hood but now you could see everything.  
You stood in an open space, tall, towering walls made like a entrance gate stood in front of you, the word 'Konoha', meaning 'village of leaf,' written on it in red, scratched-off paint.  
  
Gulping, you followed Kiba quietly towards the guards at the entrance.  
  
"Hey Kiba...." the two men drifted off when they saw you, "We've told you millions of times, you can't bring random people back to the village!"   
  
The two men got out of their places, making their ways towards you quickly.  
  
Your hand made its way up to your necklace as you tried to pull it out before they stopped you.  
  
However, the action was deemed threatening as the bigger of the two restrained you, both of your hands twisted behind your back.  
  
It took all you had not to cry out in pain and stop them as you leaned forward, exposing your necklace.  
  
He immediately let go of you as the other one leaned forward, examining it.  
  
"Its real," as he spoke, his voice went notches higher and his face shades paler.  
  
The man who was restraining your arms looked down at you, petrified.  
  
Ignoring their faces, you spoke directly to them and Kiba, "I shouldn't be here....maybe I should? I don't know...The Hokage....he knows, I think?"  
  
Your words all came out as questions as you stared at their faces.  
  
(TIME SKIP)  
  
You quickly burst into the Hokages office, Kiba on your tail as the guards speechlessly stood outside.  
  
He looked up from his never-ending pile of paperwork, a serious expression on his face as he quickly studied you.  
  
Recognising you, he stood up, walking over, "The visions weren't wrong like I hoped..." A soft tear dropped down his face as he stared at you, eyes swimming with emotion, "I'm sorry (Y/n),"   
  
That was exactly what you wanted to hear right then, but not from him. You wanted a sorry from whatever was inside you, that was the reason this was all happening.  
  
You couldn't stand seeing him crying, either.   
  
He was a nice person, you could tell, and he was much more than you had ever hoped for but...you weren't going to trust him that easily  
  
"Hey. Can someone tell me what's going on?" Seeing as you were both quiet, Kiba knew this was going to be his only time to interrupt before you started talking again. Unlike before, he was serious, sensing the atmosphere.   
  
"Well, yes, you're right, now's not the right time to be grieving loss," You nodded slightly as he continued, "Of course, we will have to tell the public you're an unknown spirit,"  
  
Your breath hitched.  
  
"WHAT!?" You and Kiba's voices screamed in unison but for different reasons.  
  
Kiba's mind thought of Naruto, who he hadn't treated too well, only now was he thinking of how the person he ignored because he was supposedly a 'monster', felt.  
  
Kiba pouted sadly as you turned to the Hokage, eyes wide,  
  
"Don't worry, we also have the nine tails in our village, you'll be ok, and, more importantly safe!" The Hokage declared this like a law, reassuring you, making you shut your mouth, unable to protest.  
  
"You!" He turned to Kiba, "She will be going to the academy, so look after her."  
  
You didn't protest as you blushed while he stared at you.  
  
"Sure~"  
  
 **Hatake Kakashi's Route**  
  
Glaring harshly at Hatake Kakashi's back, you found yourself sneering.  
  
Even though you didn't live in this world, you had still heard his name from you grandfather, he was apparently exceptional.   
  
You didn't like him at all.  
  
So far, in your life, you had worked for everything, nothing had just came easily to you. This guy....you secretly peeked but he caught your eye, turning to face you while jumping past the trees backwards, what a show-off (¬_¬)  
  
"We're almost at Konoha," His cheery yet somehow dull voice echoed through the woods.  
  
You nodded calmly, smiling poisonously.  
  
He smiled back in his mask, as fake as yours.  
  
It was a battle.  
  
He turned back to the front, but you could tell he was keeping a thorough eye on you: you could feel his intense and analytical gaze.  
  
Looking down, you saw the woods behind you disappear as your feet landed on hard, flat terrain.  
  
Looking back up, you saw huge gates, the word, 'Konoha' written on it in big letters.  
  
This was where you would finally find all the answers.  
  
You stared at the unruly haired white/grey haired man next to you as you entered.  
  
He was a Jonin, probably further than ANBU level, as he had surpassed that when you were still at a late chunin level.  
  
That was a good thing, though.  
  
You yourself were at Jonin level and had surpassed those who called themselves ANBU at Konohagakure only recently, so you knew this guy was far stronger than you...but you were still improving rapidly, he probably hit his limit a year ago.  
  
Your speed was on par with that of the Sharingan that he had in his left eye, it would be an interesting fight.  
  
You felt your necklace skim across your skin with a burning hotness, interrupting your wasteful thoughts.  
  
This was it.  
  
(TIME SKIP)  
  
Kakashi stood with you, hands at his sides as he called out to the Hokage.  
  
"Hokage, I happened to find someone interesting on my walk outside of the village~" Kakashi took a step towards Sarutobi, eyes bored as he scanned the Hokages office.  
  
The Hokage looked up from his paperwork, seeing you.  
  
The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.  
  
His Cigar thingy slightly hung out his mouth as he gazed at you, unbelieving that it was really you.   
  
You stood in front of him, trying to keep a straight face in the sight of his own flustered one.  
  
"Why...Is that?....Are you....(Y/n)?" His voice came out raggedy as he stared at you, he knew why you would be here, there was only one possibility..."Your parents....Your grandfather" He knew, but it was hard to admit, of course, it was a sad thing, "Must have passed..."  
  
You were trying to stop crying as he looked at you sadly.  
  
It was enough to make you cry to even hear the word 'mom'.  
  
You were now an orphan.  
  
"Kakashi Hatake!" The Hokage regained his composure, seeing that you were affected badly when seeing him grieving.  
  
He didn't want you to sink completely into the dark place you were falling into, so he was going to assign Kakashi in hopes of saving you. Kakashi, The Hokage knew, had been far into that dark place too, so he understood the pain you were going through. Knowing this, the Hokage decided there was no one better to accompany you.  
  
You turned to look at him with the Hokage.  
  
Kakashi pointed his finger nervously towards himself, "Me?"   
  
"Yes." The Hokage smiled, letting him know he had called his name because he was indeed going to help you get used to Konoha by being your guide, "I expect nothing but the best treatment for our guest."  
  
"An honour," He walked over and bowed to you lightly, picking your hand up to meet his lips as you felt a strange feeling hit you. Blood rushed into your face.   
  
"Milady~" He spoke gently as he kissed your hand with masked lips.  
  
The Hokage breathed out, "I hope I made the right choice."  
  
 **Nara Shikamaru's Route**  
  
After his dramatic end line, you two jumped in silence.  
Every jump was putting strain on your aching legs as you got further and further away from the heart of the forest, but you were determined to push on, thinking of his words,  
  
 _"You have something they want."_  
  
Those words made you so angry.  
  
He behaved like you had _taken_ it.   
You had _NEVER_ wanted the power you had.  
They _forced_ it on you.  
  
You tried to fight the wrath that you desperately wanted to unleash.   
  
It was this stupid ninja villages fault that you were here, now you would never be able to go back home.  
  
The thought held no significance though, there was never really somewhere you could go home to, but at least you had people who loved you. They were the only reason you were even living. Now they were gone.  
What did you have to live for? Your life had no meaning.  
  
People often called you a deep thinker, you knew why now.   
  
The boy in front of you came to a stop in front of huge gates. The gates to Konoha, the hidden leaf village.   
  
This was the village your grandfather was from.   
  
It looked sleepy from the outside, but you knew its history too well, it was actually quite a scary place, but in a calm, subtle way, a place which could strike and kill like a snake, swiftly.  
  
"Shikamaru Nara, from the Nara clan," The boy suddenly spoke as he walked away from you quickly, towards the village guards, telling them shortly the situation.  
  
Suddenly, the boy called Shikamaru was bringing over guards with a tired look on his face.  
  
You pulled out your necklace quickly, letting them examine it.  
  
The first one gave a nod to the second one with a pale face.  
  
Gulping, they let you through, as Shikamaru stood next to you unbothered by their attitudes....  
  
Strange...he didn't seem scared of you.  
  
(TIME SKIP)  
  
Before you opened the door to the Hokages office, you properly examined Shikamaru's face, looking for signs of fear and seeing if he would flinch is you stood too close.   
  
You weren't used to people accepting you as an equal, but he showed no signs of being even a bit uncomfortable in your presence.  
  
It made you feel normal again.  
  
"Are you going to open the door, or what? Man this is such a drag, I could be in bed right now." He spoke calmly as he put his hands behind his head in an easy going gesture.  
  
Hoping the Hokage was accepting like him, you twisted the door handle.  
  
Slowly, the door creaked open, revealing the Hokage standing, staring out of the window.  
  
Shikamaru rolled his eyes apathetically, calling out with a bored face, "Hokage....Cat spirit,"   
You stared wide eyed at his straightforward demeanour, but you could tell he wasn't being rude at all, it was just how he was.  
  
The hokage whipped around, seeing a scared and vulnerable you.   
  
He took quick strides over to you, he already knew by the look on your face everything that had happened. The horror was shown through your eyes.  
  
He put his hand on your shoulder, reassuring you. The touch was all you needed to know what he was next going to say.  
  
"You're going tell the public...," You didn't accuse him at all, you couldn't blame him, this would have to be told to the people of Konoha.  
  
Surprised by your intellect, he nodded slowly.  
  
You nodded back.  
  
The Hokage whispered something to a tired Shikamaru, as his eyes widened then narrowed.  
  
"You're starting the academy," Shikamaru said passively, grabbing your hand and pulling you out of the smiling Hokages office.


	4. This Is My New Life?!

**Naruto Uzumaki**  
  
The academy was filled to the brim with obnoxiously loud twelve year olds, none of them looking your way at all, too invested in whatever they were doing, whether it be sleeping, looking out of windows or shouting across the classroom.  
  
It felt foreign, they were like Martians to you.  
  
Their teacher, Iruka, waved his hands around frantically, trying to get them to calm down without having to actually shout at them.  
  
He clearly wasn't the military kind of teacher.  
  
You sighed gently, smiling at his frazzled state as he tried to calm his rowdy class down. You honestly felt bad for him, he was too kind for his own good.   
  
Looking up for the first time, you blinked, surprised at the.....colourful......crowd before you.  
  
Some looked like emo's ( ~~*coughs*naming no names*coughs*sasuke*coughs*~~ ), some were too busy sleeping or eating and, of course, there were the typical lovesick girls, crowding wherever there crushes went. Those girls were everywhere, even in this place of Martians.  
  
"Class! Class! Come on guys, there's a new addition to our class, quieten dow-" Everything went silent, all of them looking at you like _you _were the Martian. Some of them portrayed no sign of interest, but they were watching you with narrowed eyes.  
  
 **"** Introduce yourself, don't be scared, they're all inside softies," Iruka-sensei's gentle voice chimed, coming from your left, as he smiled warmly at your unsure face.  
  
"I'm (y/n) (l/-"   
  
"(Y/N)!!!! I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN," You were swiftly cut off by a voice that was all too familiar.  
Was that seriousl-  
  
"THEY TOOK YOU OUT MY ARMS WHEN YOU FAINTED AND I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN," It was actually so sweet, Naruto's joyful voice brought solace and energy to you. It was nice to see someone you were familiar with.  
  
You felt so touched because of his loud, but cute gesture towards you as he ran over to you from the door, enveloping your skinny frame.  
  
"I thought they threw you out and it was scary, I thought I'd lost you forever," His voice calmed down as he whispered shakily in your right ear.  
  
You could feel his body shaking as he tightened his hold on you, as if he was afraid you'd get taken away from him again.  
  
"Naruto....!" You tailed off however, seeing the looks from his classmates. They weren't gawking as in 'awww that's so cute!", no, they were staring at the two of you as if you were monsters.  
  
You couldn't care less about being normal anymore, you had Naruto and he had accepted you for who you were.   
  
Hesitantly parting, you both loosened your grips on eachother.  
  
You could feel a wet patch in your hair where his face was.  
  
Was he crying?!  
  
Quickly, you moved to wipe the tears off his face but he grabbed your hand before it could make contact with his skin.  
  
"(Y/n).....these are tears of happiness....I'm glad my only friend wasn't taken away from me," He looked up proudly, tears streaming down his tanned face and dropping onto the floor.  
  
Tears for you.  
  
....Wait! Did he say only friend?! Someone like him should have loads of friends?  
  
You looked around at his classmates, who just stared at the scene in shock. Even Iruka-sensei looked shocked. He'd never imagined Naruto would make a friend who _actually_ accepted him for who he was.  
  
Straight away, you knew Naruto was somehow like you, which is why everyone was so surprised.  
  
"Naruto! Go take your seat," Iruka interrupted the moment, "(Y/n), seems like you already know Naruto, why not sit wi-"  
  
"Mr. Umino," An unfamiliar voice from the left startled you all, as you turned to see who was calling for him, while Naruto wiped away his tears. The man on the left wore a mask...ANBU, "The Hokage requests an audience with you, if its not too much trouble."  
  
Iruka sighed unsurely, but eventually made up his mind, "Class, get acquainted, I have to pop out real quick," He sweat-dropped as he followed the ANBU officer, closing the door behind him softly.  
  
 _Thunk!_ The sound of the heavy wood door shut.  
  
Chaos.  
  
Shouting could be heard as everyone began talking to one another. Strangely, no-one approached you and Naruto.  
  
You felt his arm interlink with yours as you went (he dragged you) to the corner of the classroom, where a glum boy with onyx eyes sat. You could feel the tension between him and Naruto, the two of you barely getting through the crowd of fangirls.  
  
The boy looked up at you both as Naruto turned around to face you.  
  
"Wait right here! HUMPH." He addressed you, then stormed over to the pale boy  
  
From what you could see, a pink haired girl was fawning over the raven-haired boy hopelessly. This seemed to spark something within your whiskered friend, something you noticed.  
  
He _totally_ was jealous.  
  
You didn't like Naruto in that way (yet) so, "Go get her Naru!" Smiling, you cheered him on, seeing the pink girl glaring at you with anger.  
  
Everyone parted as Naruto stood on the gothic guys desk, engaging in a staring contest. Suddenly the pineapple boy in front woke up, hearing the commotion, as the back of his head accidently hit Naruto's posterior.  
  
Naruto face planted, touching the other males lips, as they both stared into each others eyes, disgusted and shocked.  
  
You began laughing, but Sakura and her blonde friend weren't amused.  
  
"NARUUUUUUTOOOOOO!!!!!!!"   
  
That day in class you learned something new, Sakura was hella scary.

  
 **Sasuke Uchiha**  
  
You stayed with the certain Uchiha as you walked through the corridors of the academy. Of course, you knew how the academical system worked, but you also knew you were almost at Jonin level, so this would definitely be boring for you.   
  
Needless to say, you had to go, because everyone your age also had to go. What a shame.  
  
You followed 'Sasuke' into a rowdy and untamed class with no teacher. This didn't really bother either of you, however, what did bother you was the two girls who immediately pushed you aside while glaring at you, then bounded up to the disinterested Uchiha. Rolling your eyes, you ignored them, beginning to walk away.  
  
A possessive hand grabbed your wrist as you began to wander, earning gasps from the gorillas.  
  
For some reason, the Uchiha didn't want you to leave, he was expecting at least _some_ jealousy from you when they did that, but you remained completely expressionless, other than looking a bit offended.  
  
He didn't like that.  
  
He had no idea what he was thinking when he grabbed you.  
  
Bashfully, he looked away, dropping your hand, "Come sit with me, its not like you know anyone else,"  
  
The girls, who had run up to him for the sole purpose of sitting wherever he sat, stood angrily, glaring at you.   
  
'Sasuke' dug his hands into his pockets, looking anywhere but you.   
  
You smirked smugly in a very sasuke-like way, making him even more annoyed at his big mouth for asking you.   
  
"Why not?"   
  
The girls began whispering curses like, "She's not even giving him her all!......how could she treat my Sasuke like that!....Half assed....'why not', what kind of answer is that?!"   
  
You sent your sharpest glare their way, making them all instantly fear you, while your lips pulled downwards into a frown.  
  
They were _so_ annoying.  
  
Sasuke tried to fight a smirk off his face as he watched you. You weren't one to take other peoples bull, that was for sure.   
  
Mentally noting that, he took the seat nearest to the window, immediately looking out of the window to avoid having to look at you. In his eyes, you already seemed like the perfect friend (aka. girlfriend), but there was no way he'd actually admit that. (¬_¬)  
  
You silently began to sit next to him, earning disgraced shouts from his fangirls.   
  
Out of the crowd emerged a boy. Immediately you knew he was the fourth Hokages son, judging his golden hair and blue eyes...which meant, he was also the nine tailed jinjuriki. You knew he didn't know that, of course.  
  
Dressed like a tiger, he stormed up to you, scrunching up his nose up to look like a threat.  
  
Seeing him, you froze, realising how he was the same as you in almost every way.  
  
Sasuke noticed him too, but he also saw the way you froze.   
  
Did you like Naruto or something?! Love at first sight?!?!  
  
No, the thought was too much for him, that couldn't be....but what if Naruto was your type! Why did he care so much?!  
  
He didn't even bother dealing with his inner turmoil as he watched Naruto jump on his desk while pushing you away. Anger count: 2/10. Baring down in a not-so-threatening way, Naruto's eyes made contact with Sasuke's annoyed onyx ones. Anger count: 6/10. By now, he was sure he would beat the shit outta Naruto any second.  
  
He looked over at you for a second, breaking his intense staring match with Naruto. He caught sight of your slight smirk as you watched the encounter with everyone else. Why was he so worried? You'd fit in just fine.  
  
Suddenly, the person sleeping on their desks head shot up, startled by something.  
  
His head hit Naruto's backside, making him fall forwards.  
  
You closed your eyes exasperated, not bothering to open them. It would've ended in a hilarious kiss, that was if Naruto wasn't Minato's son and a ninja. He could probably get out of the way before something like that happene-  
  
Wait.  
  
Why was everyone quiet?  
  
Quickly, you opened your (e/c) orbs to see what was going on, instantly choking on your own spit.  
  
Their lips were sealed together in a awkward kiss.  
  
Holding back a laugh, you bit your lip. What the hell?!!!!

Sasuke's eyebrows creased together after a second of initial shock. Damn Naruto! That was his first one.

Subconsciously, his eyes drifted to you....why was he looking at you?!  
  
You heard Pinky, who was to your left, shout, "NAAAARUUUTOOO"  
  
Sasuke's anger count: 10000000000000/10.

  
 **Subaku No Gaara....Meeting**  
  
You walked aimlessly with team 7 on the day of the Chunin exams.   
  
Most people moved out of your way while you made your way to the stadium.  
  
At some point Konohamaru had joined you, making his way around with you. He didn't care if it made him look bad to be with you guys, which is why you felt the most comfortable with Kakashi's team, they were all so accepting. Especially Naruto, as he was a jinjuriki like you.  
  
You hadn't really been paying attention to him, as Konohamaru blabbered about stuff no-one cared about.   
  
"And the-"   
  
"Hey! Watch where your going kid!" A guy with face paint stopped the flow of you all, as Naruto stepped forwards to protect the now scared Konohamaru.   
  
Irritated, he proceeded in beating up Naruto.  
  
 _Clink!_  
  
Sasuke in a tree, threw his kunai, effectively stopping the face-painted guys advances.   
  
Closing his eyes and chuckling, he spoke, "Well, well, what do we have here?"  
  
Sharingan wearing off his eyes, Sasuke and paint face guy glared at eachother.  
  
"Come on," Suddenly, an icy, cold voice rang out, devoid of any kind of emotion.  
  
You saw sand leak out from the other side of the tree as it reconnected, forming an expressionless boy.  
  
You gasped as his teal eyes made contact with your (e/c) ones. He was the boy from your vision. Everything was the same.  
  
The clothes, the sand gourd, the height, the gorgeous red hair, the pale skin and the dark circles around his eyes.   
  
No...his eyes were different....they were empty.   
  
He stared at you, no-one else. 

Sakura, looking a bit worried, held your arm while you and him made deadly eye contact, thinking something bad was going to happen. She tried to calm the harsh mood by telling them that you guys were also on the way to the chunin exams.  
  
You felt your necklace burn against your skin. It hadn't done that in a while.  
  
The red-heads eyes drifted upwards to your heads, widening when seeing the leaf village band across your forehead.  
  
Narrowing his eyes into slits, his orbs pierced your soul, making your body shudder slightly in the face of his suddenly fierce persona. He bared down on you increasingly, like you were his prey.  
  
Averting your eyes, you looked over to Sasuke, who jumped down from the tree with a _thump!_ This was getting more and more worrying.  
  
The girl in the back corner smiled, "Guys! We'll leave them be....Then crush them."  
  
You looked up as she leaned on her fan, smiling.  
  
The tomato-hair looked you up an down, scanning your body and trying to check what Justus you used in battle.....but nothing could be deciphered  
  
Closing his eyes and looking away from you, he looked over at Sasuke briefly before turning away.  
  
"Wait!" Sasuke spoke calmly, "What's your name."   
  
Glancing back over his shoulder, his teal eyes landed on your figure.  
  
"Gaara." His tone was icy as his eyes flickered from you to Sasuke, "Subaku no Gaara,"   
  
His eyes lingered on you, and, for some reason, he could feel a warmth in the way you looked back, a warmth he had never felt from anyone but you.  
  
He wanted to see more of you and he couldn't understand it.  
  
"I'm also interested in you," He addressed you, and, finally walked away.   
  
You stared with suddenly empty eyes as his figure began to retreat with his team.....  
  
Little did you know, you were fated to meet many more times.

* * *

**I'm sorry Gaara's was so short, I couldn't really do much as the next chapter is about the Chunin exam fights and I didn't want to spoil that. Thanks for those who understa** **nd :)**

* * *

  
**Kiba Inuzuka**  
  
The teacher had no idea what to do with you so you just stood at the door, reluctant to even come in.  
  
The class had stopped shouting upon seeing you, surprised by your new presence.  
  
You finally looked up, confused at their silence, when you spotted a familiar face...It was glowing like the sun in the crowd.  
  
He was staring at you just as happily.  
  
If this wasn't love at first sight, then what was?  
  
Heart stopping, your eyes connected....  
  
"Akamaru!"  
  
Akamaru jumped off his position in Kiba's hair, running and jumping into your welcoming arms. Pulling a mock hurt face (even though he was actually hurt) Kiba began sniffling and mumbling things about how you loved his dog more than him, while banging his forehead against the desk.  
  
You opened your mouth angrily, "Your dog is much better company than you!"   
  
Humph-ing, you turned away.  
  
It was his fault he was getting the silent treatment.  
  
Shortly after the Hokage had told him to take care of you, he had taken it upon himself to follow you everywhere until your days at the academy started. And by everywhere, you meant **everywhere**. The day before, you had caught him 'keeping an eye on you' in your bath tub.  
  
If that wasn't a violation of privacy, what was?  
  
Whining, he began to roll across his desk, disturbing his desk partner.  
  
But you were stubborn. You wouldn't forgive him no matter how many times he apologised....at least that how you made it seem on the outside. Secretly, though, you had already forgiven him.  
  
You could've pounded him with your nearly Jonin level skills, but you didn't, and that was because you felt flattered by the way he took care of you. One mistake wasn't enough to override all of his previous acts of kindness.  
  
Almost immediately after, Akamaru began whimpering in your arms, before jumping out of your hold.  
  
"HAHAHA, see he likes me more, I've been with him his entire lif-"   
  
Cutting Kiba off successfully, Akamaru walked back to you, ignoring his owners wishes. Kiba's happy expression left as he watched Akamaru begin to tug on your (f/c) shoes.  
  
He couldn't believe it, his dog was choosing you over him.  
  
You couldn't believe it, his dog was choosing you over him.  
  
But Akamaru had something else in mind.  
  
Tugging on your shoe with his teeth, he tried pulled you towards Kiba.   
  
Truth was, the dog could sense that you guys were fighting and wanted to bring peace.   
  
Petting his head gently when you realised what he wanted, you stood up straight, smiling at Kiba.  
  
You were prepared to swallow your pride.  
  
"Truce," You stood over him as he sat perplexed at his desk.  
  
"Wha? Seriously?"   
  
"Akamaru doesn't like it," You spoke quickly, looking away from his shocked face while holding out your left hand for him to shake.  
  
He knew it......dogs were the best wingmen.  
  
A small smirk graced his lips as he stared at your blushing self.   
  
Idea.  
  
He leaned forward to take your hand but didn't shake it. Pulling you forward, he stopped when his face was right next to your left ear.  
  
"Truce, sugar-lips."  
  
Pulling away with a smile like a madman, you could suddenly feel the eyes of the class on the two of you.  
  
Desperately, you tried to fight of the blush that was turning your face from (skin colour) to tomato red.  
  
Lifting your hands up to your lips, you caught his eyes focusing on your every moment.  
  
He was enjoying this.  
  
That just made you more embarrassed.  
  
Why did you even try to talk to the stupid flirt?!  
  
Wrinkling up your nose, you quickly made your way into his desk space, sitting yourself next to him.  
  
He was in _so_ for it this time. You didn't care if he was only in the academy.  
  


 **Ka** **kashi Hatake**  
  
Boredly, you stared out of the window.  
  
You had given up on glaring at Hatake long ago, now you were just watching the ever-flowing stream outside the house you shared.  
  
You heard it right. You shared a house.  
  
What were you, an old married couple???!  
  
Anyway, the surprise you had felt when you had moved in with him had faded away, leaving a tired you to sleep in his house the first day you'd got there. He had a personalised ninja suit for you, which you told him you hated (though you loved it) and everything was surprisingly clean, contrary to his slightly dishevelled appearance.  
  
Another plus was there was stream right outside and you could see the sunset as it lowered into the hills.  
  
Before you wonder, you and him did not share bedrooms. Ok.  
  
Anyway, you were well enough to get out of bed and eat after a while, thank God. Can you just be the first to say, despite his gentlemanly acts, Kakashi clearly never took any sorts of lessons in cooking, you could tell this by the mush he called food. Overcooked stakes, burnt vegetables, yes, the man you were living in had undoubtedly never, and by never, you meant **ever** , took any sort of pride in the way he makes his food.  
  
How had he even been living up until now? The stuff you were eating tasted like pure mush, you wouldn't be surprised if you got food-poisoning.  
  
SO, you decided to do him a little favour....  
  
 _Kakashi's POV_  
  
The smell of fresh food filled my nostrils, making my mouth water slightly under my mask.  
  
What the hell was happening in there?! No, don't tell me (Y/n) set the place on fire or something? That sounded like something only her devious mind would ever think of.  
  
Now I was running, sprinting towards my poor, lonely house, hoping she hadn't done anything.  
  
The smell hit me in the face while as soon as I got inside my beloved abode.  
  
The aroma smelt like everything nice and spice, and I let it control me until I was in the kitchen, and the sight I saw was one I thought I'd never see. There was someone in my kitchen, is what I'd thought initially, knowing it was (Y/n). I expected her to fling a pie in my face as I cautiously tip-toed through the hallways...but nothing came.  
  
The door was open slightly as I came to a halt, hoping nothing she rigged awaited me, before opening the door slowly.  
  
There she stood, clad in my _favourite_ pink apron, like an absolute angel. I never thought I'd ever come home to the feeling of someone waiting for me and cooking for me. I was sure I was in heaven.  
  
Feeling the urge to hug her, I dropped all of my other superstitions, walking up to her from behind.  
  
Not bothering to turn around, she just greeted me, "Hey Kakashi,"   
  
Never had I once heard her say my name like that, so...natural.  
  
Was she feeling alright?! The feelings that were arousing in me stopped as worry intervened. Quickly, I stalked over to her small self. I knew hugging her would earn a bit of thrashing, on her part, and back-hugs were something _only couples_ did (as he learned from icha icha) so that was a no-go.  
  
I thought of a more friendly way to approach her, as my hand swiftly went up, touching her forehead.  
  
"Hmmm, no fever," I joked, getting no response from her at all.  
  
Little did I know, she was too busy trying to stop the blush from covering her cheeks.  
  
"It smells good!" I try a compliment, trying to get on her good side.  
  
"Thanks!" her voice came out abnormally squeaky.  
  
I turned a stubborn (Y/n) to face me, holding her shoulders. I saw in full glory her embarrassed face, her façade dropping. Meanwhile, she looked anywhere apart from at me, the wall, the floor, until she finally picked a spot behind my shoulder to stare at.  
  
"Awww," I got my tease on, "Is someone still virgin?" I teased, still laughing at how cute her reaction was. At that moment, I was so glad for my mask. My face was red.  
  
She looked down, "Is there something wrong with being virgin?" Her flushed face grew redder as she went quiet.  
  
Quiet (Y/n)....I never imagined.  
  
"No! No! Its a good thing your virgin," I grew more secure as I looked at her, she was _also_ a virgin.  
  
Her breaths grew more stable as she calmed herself down, her cheeks turning light pink instead of the dark colour of red earlier.   
  
"Hatake," She chimed with an ever-gentle voice.  
  
Oh no.  
She was back.  
  
I had about three minutes to run, but I knew she'd catch me. Expectantly, she tapped her foot, awaiting for me to run, but was surprised to see me standing still.  
  
She wrinkled up her nose, "Your a lucky guy 'Kashi," She began, pulling out a mocking nickname for me, "I'm in the forgiving mood," She continued, turning back to the bubbling stove,  
  
"But," I knew there was a catch,  
  
"If you ever mention this to anyone, I'll kill you."   
  
Her sickeningly sweet voice echoed, as the stove flew up with fire.  
  
Now, I was scared.  
  
I retracted myself from her, sitting down with a _thump!_ at the table.  
  
She walked over with a bowl of soup,  
  
"Now! Why don't we eat!"   
  
**Shikamaru Nara**  
  
You stood cowering behind Shikamaru, looking at the door of yours and his new classroom. For some reason, you had felt really jumpy as soon as you'd entered the huge school.  
  
To be honest, you didn't want to go to the academy, after all, you were a almost Jounin. However, the strict rules of Konoha that Shikamaru had explained to you, stated that 'all children under 13 must pass the academy level to successfully to become genin.' and thus, being the non-rebel ninja you were, you decided to enroll with him.  
  
You also knew it would be impossible for him to keep an eye on you while attending school, so, to make it easier his way, you decided to go.  
  
You were scared though.  
  
Scared they would hate you.  
  
Scared they would ignore you.  
  
What you were scared of most though, is that they'd be _scared_ of you.  
  
There were so many things that could go wrong in a class full of rowdy 12/11 year olds.   
  
Shikamaru noticed your nervousness, of course, being the perspective male he was. He wanted to do something to put you at ease, but comforting people wasn't really his strongest suite. Sure, he could try talking to you, but his words had always come out like he didn't really mean them, due to his lax personality, so he had to think of a different plan.  
  
He looked behind him to see you still staring at the door nob of the classroom.  
  
This was going to be hard.  
  
Ugh, you know what, fuck strategy, just do whatever.  
  
The warmth of a strong hand could be felt as Shikamaru's bigger hand enveloped your small one. He didn't look at you, nor did he say anything, he just let his demeanour do all the talking.   
  
And you understood.  
  
He was saying he wasn't good at this kind of thing. That this was the only way he could comfort you.  
  
You definitely weren't complaining, either.  
  
The feeling of his slightly calloused hand was making your heart beat thousands of times faster. If you fainted right there you wouldn't be surprised.  
  
Letting go with a final squeeze, he pulled away slowly, hand dropping limply by his side as his other one reached out to the doorknob.  
  
The moment of truth.  
  
You walked in behind him, expecting to hear and see the room filled with lots of people....but no one was in sight.  
  
It was empty.  
  
Shikamaru couldn't stop his smirk. He had gotten you all worked up on purpose, but in reality you were early to class, so early not even the teacher was there.  
  
In disbelief, you stood gaping.  
  
"Shikaaaaa!" Angrily, you looked over to him, he _so_ did that on purpose just to see you get worked up. He was dead.  
  
Here you were, thinking 'he's too lazy to pull any stunts', but you never thought he'd somehow pull a _lazy_ stunt.   
  
How was it even possible.  
  
Shikamaru paid no heed to your angry-ness, as he nonchalantly made his way over to a desk near the back rows.  
  
He had too much nerve.  
  
He waited for you to follow him, but you were determined to stand your ground.  
  
You didn't like being tricked.  
  
Smiling as an idea popped into your mind, you made your way over to the other side of the classroom, plopping yourself down on a seat as far away from him you could.  
  
You had no idea why you even did it, and it was such a petty thing to do, but you felt the need to.  
  
"Pffffft~"  
  
You shot up, was that!?   
  
In all its glory, you saw Shikamaru covering his mouth with his hand and trying not to laugh at what you'd just done.  
  
You had never seen Shikamaru laugh, yes, you'd seen him smile, you'd seen him frown all too many times, you'd even seen his weird faces in the couple of days you were spending with him in the Nara household, but a laughing Shikamaru you'd never even bothered to imagine.  
  
All anger drained away from you as you watched him regain his composure.   
  
This was priceless.  
  
 _Swooooosh!_ The door suddenly opened while you were gaping, as several of the academy students swaggered in, all of them in clusters.  
  
Shikamaru banged his head down on the table while groaning. They just _had_ to ruin his moment with you.  
  
You weren't nervous at all anymore. You didn't even care about them.  
  
All you could think about as the teacher began class, was how Shikamaru laughed.....  
  
He seriously laughed!!!!!

* * *

**That was an interesting chapter to write.....this is just the chapter where you guys are only friends, but shows how your relationship is progressing.  
The next chapter will be about how he sort of starts to get feelings for you during the chunin exams, so, yeah, a bit of a time skip and romantic action.  
After, it'll probably be a huge time skip to the end of the Naruto! series, after sasuke leaves and Naruto goes off to train with Jiraya.  
Then a chapter where Naruto shippuden starts, and when Naruto goes to rescue Sasuke with Sai and Sakura.  
So many time skips.  
Bye readers.**


	5. Chunin Exams: What do I feel?

**This is where he starts liking you, and you begin liking him....**  
  
 **Uzumaki Naruto**  
  
It was the day of the Chunin Exams.  
You were prepared to give your all.....watching.  
  
That's right, you didn't actually have to do the exams, as your grandfather was an elder in the village a long, long time ago, and since he was the one to set up your tests, the Hokage figured you were above the chunin level (which you were). Therefore, you just spent your time with other teams, helping them prepare and providing support, while they wined at how you got to 'skip levels'.  
  
That wasn't true, but you didn't want to be telling them your life story when they should be focusing solely on their upcoming exams.  
  
"Miss (Y/n), the Hokage ordered me to tell you this..." The chunin who had appeared out of nowhere trailed off, seeing your 'this must be important' look.  
  
Truth be told, he didn't want to be the one to break this to you, but what had to be done, had to be done,  
  
"He thinks it be better if you take the chunin exams"  
  
You gaped.  
  
Then you gaped more.  
  
And more.  
  
The average chunin was beginning to get worried, had you been paralysed in shock?!   
  
(TIME SKIP)   
  
How had this happened to you?!   
  
You were with team seven, being the plus-on who was shoved into the weakest team. Naruto, of course, was overjoyed.  
  
They had someone as strong as you with them to get the heaven/earth scroll they needed.  
  
You're currently in the woods, trying to avoid any other teams.  
Naruto was moaning about how he had to pee, so you stopped, waiting for him.  
  
That was how this whole mess started.  
  
You were neck deep in trouble and were barely able to stand. Her eyes...or is it a he? Whatever, a monster, that was the right way to label whatever was in front of you.  
  
A snake hissed its way over to you.   
Snakes. Sanin?  
  
Your mind instantly thought back to the story your grandfather had told you of the legendary Sanin. One of them used snakes....  
Orochimaru?  
  
The character in front of you was strong, so strong he had you and the others in his genjustu. You hated the sensation you got from looking at his eyes. Fear. Bodies trembling and frozen, the impending sense of doom. The worst part was, just by looking at his eyes, you could tell how many people he'd killed.  
  
It disgusted you.  
  
Luckily, you knew how to break a genjustu. Focusing your chakra, you escaped. Sasuke was already out of the genjustu as he'd broken out by piercing his leg with a kunai knife. He picked up Sakura shakily, as you guys signalled for eachother to escape.  
  
Hiding behind a tree, you tried to take refuge.  
  
"Sasuke-kun, are you okay!" Sakura didn't pay you a seconds attention as she started worrying over Sasuke.  
  
Slamming his hand over her mouth, he, terrified, turned to see if Orochimaru was nearing.   
  
Suddenly, a pulse was felt under your feet.  
  
Snake, big Snake!  
  
Sakura tried to warn Sasuke but he didn't bother turning.  
Guess you were gonna have to take care of this.  
  
Time to use your high level chunin ability.  
  
Throwing Shuriken and pinpointing the vital spots on the snake, you jumped up, allowing Sasuke and Sakura to get some distance away.  
  
You turned back with a snarl as the woman- no- Orochimaru began to come out of the top, covered in snake saliva.  
  
Surprise at seeing you flitted across his face, before she -no he- lunged into battle.  
  
Lower body dissipating, he flew with a snake half towards you.  
  
Barely able to see him, you trusted your instincts and got away from the brunt of the attack, falling back with Sasuke and Sakura.  
This was going to be harder than you'd thought.  
  
Making up your mind on your next move, you moved your hand up to you face, biting your thumb lightly.  
Summoning. Your summoning originated from your grandfather and you knew what you were doing.   
  
Ready to press your palm against the floor, you formed quick hand signs.   
  
Orochimaru got ready to advance.  
  
Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!  
  
........Three Shuriken.  
  
You all looked up and -lo and behold- there stood Naruto.  
  
Worry was written all over Sasuke's face.  
He knew Naruto wasn't strong enough to save you all.  
He may've even made it worse by showing up.  
  
"Look, I'll give you the scroll," He began, but was cut off just as you were about to voice your own complaints.  
  
Naruto jumped down angrily. He turned and punched Sasuke hard across the face, making Sasuke go flying.  
Then, arguing relentlessly, charged straight at the enemy.  
  
You face palmed.  
  
Forming quick hand signs, you used a wind style to separate his body from the snakes.  
  
Naruto was powerful, you wouldn't deny, but he wasn't strong enough to go against that monster of a man.  
  
Landing on a tree trunk hardly, you saw his body shake.  
  
Had you hurt him from that harmless justu?!  
  
You ran over, forgetting everything in that moment. The only thing that mattered was that Naruto was okay.  
  
Jumping down, you quickly turned him over.  
  
Red.  
Red eyes stared back at you.  
  
Heart stopping, you started to get up and away from him, knowing he'd lost control on the nine-tailed fox.  
This was bad. You knew what it felt like to lose control to a beast.  
  
Growling, he looked up at you.   
Under his red, harsh orbs, you shivered. This was another side of Naruto.  
  
 _Bang!_  
  
Instantly, your head snapped back to attention at a sound from a distance. What were you doing?! You had to help the others!  
  
You didn't care if Naruto was the nine-tailed fox, he was still Naruto.  
  
"I'm going to go get them!" Determination filled your eyes as you turned to go, but you weren't planning on leaving him behind.  
No, he was coming with you.  
  
You pulled on his sleeve gently and caringly, contrary to the burning passion in your eyes. The same way you'd held his hand when he first met you. The first person the ever be kind to him...was you. His heart started beating faster as he looked into your sparkling eyes. He felt his body stiffen at your touch. What was happening? Didn't he like Sakura in that way? He'd never felt this way around her. You were all the sugar and the little bit of candy on top. You gave the sun to his shine. Without you, he'd ultimately be nothing. He probably wouldn't have made it this far without you. All at once this realisation hit him, and he wanted to convey everything to you right then and there, but even he knew there was a time and place.  
  
The feeling was still a bud, not a full bloomed flower, but it was there.  
  
Right now, though, was not the right time to acknowledge it.  
  
He shook his head slightly. There were still many dates to come to confirm his feelings....if you even accepted the first one, of course  
  
Looking back up at Orochimaru, he snarled menacingly.   
If he was fighting for you, then he'd try his best.  
  
This was gonna be one hell of a brawl!  
  
 **Uchiha Sasuke**  
  
Smiling, you looked over the room full of genin from neighbouring lands.  
This was sure to be fun.  
  
Ibiki was the proctor after all. His mental fortitude was incomparable.  
You allowed yourself to smirk as team seven entered the room. Those lot were a sorry bunch.  
They had Sakura, after all.  
Joking.  
  
You looked around, seeing the other students, but none of them really caught your eye. You were a chunin helper for the exams. You had your own ones held a couple of weeks ago. Sparring with the Hokage and getting quite far was enough for them to be able to see you were getting to Jonin level, and for them to let you off the hook.  
  
Glaring at the rain Genin who was eyeing your figure, your eyes drifted from one seat to the other, looking for someone.  
  
Blue.  
  
There he was.  
  
You closed your eyes, acting like you never tried to look at him in the first place.  
You remembered the first time he'd caught you looking.  
  
The way he smirked really got on your nerves.....and made you feel.....Nonononono, no it didn't make you feel that way and his over protective nature was _not_ hot to you in any way, neither was his cute little smirk, nor his hot and cold personality, nothing about him was attractive at all!  
  
Despite thinking that, you allowed one eye to open to look at him, just a peep. He would never know.....  
  
Your narrowed eye opened slightly, light entering your vision. You looked directly at him, knowing he wouldn't know.  
Yeah, you were only looking at him to see if he was cheating and if you could catch him...Yeah! That was _totally_ why.  
  
He sat with his hands folded behind his head, as if he was free from any burden and wasn't taking his chunin exams.  
  
Onyx. His dark, glistening orbs locked with your (e/c) ones.   
  
Crap, you'd been caught.  
You expected one of his signature smirks or a little laugh that he sometimes did, but he did nothing.  
His eyes just stayed on you, looking at you as if he hadn't even realised you were looking back at him.  
  
Wait...how long had he been staring at you if he hadn't even noticed you were looking back?  
  
His eyes suddenly seemed to focus on your features now, as he saw your weirded out expression.   
Crap, he'd been caught.  
  
He quickly looked away, a dark blush spreading through his cheeks. Why was he blushing this badly because of you? When did he start seeing you in that way? A new feeling spread through him like wild-fire, and rendered him breathless. What were you doing to him? Was this some sort of Genjustu? His hand went to his heart slowly, as he placed it over, feeling the thumping of his heartbeat. This was bad.  
Very bad.  
He was meant to avenge his clan.  
  
What was he doing falling for you?  
  
Wait..  
  
Did he seriously just admit that?!  
  
He knew it was the truth though. He'd really fell for you. You were the first person he had ever felt this with before and it scared him shitless that just by looking at you made him feel like fireworks were exploding inside him. Is this what being in love was like?  
  
Nonononono, this wasn't the right time, he had to focus on the chunin exams. He had to focus on getting stronger.  
  
Love.  
  
He was supposed to just be a vessel for vengeance.  
  
Why was this happening to him right now?!  
  
You looked at him, cocking your head cutely. Damn his heart! Why did you have to do that?  
  
Meanwhile you were wondering why he was getting all worked up. After all, you'd never seen him be so emotional in your lifetime here.  
  
 **Subaku No Gaara**  
  
Crimson blood dripped onto the floor.   
Your blood.  
  
You worriedly stood up, staring at the ninja before you. He was from the village of sound, and, from what you had heard wasn't strong.  
So how?  
How was he able to level with you.  
  
You turned your head to eyes the Hokage and Judges, seeing only their concerned faces look back at you. This most definitely wasn't a genin level fight, the sheer power of your opponent was outstanding.   
  
His name was Dosu, apparently .  
He was a first time attendant too.  
  
Digging your nails into your palm, you charged full speed.  
  
(TIMESKIP FIGHT)  
  
You'd somehow won against your opponent, and were instantly promoted to chunin.   
  
However, you felt bad. To you, a victory as crude and violent as yours had been was more of a loss, and with that in mind, you'd decided to apologise to your opponent. Yes, you knew that wasn't the way of the shinobi, and you should've been emotionless towards your enemy, but it was your way of the ninja to forgive, and that was something you'd never forget.  
  
Your past experiences served as a reminder, after all.  
  
You were supposed to be apologising right then......but curiosity got the better of you.  
  
Quietly, you stood behind the rooftop chimney, listening in on the conversation. You had no idea why Dosu had gone up to the roof, but you were sure he was talking or meeting someone so you'd followed .  
  
"When there is a full moon, _he_ gets excited,"  
  
You recognised that voice, the red boy, Gaara.  
  
Instantly, your throat closed at his murder-intent filled voice. It was the same as the day you'd met him. You imagined his emotionless face, eyes filled with bloodlust- but- then another image entered your reeling mind. The image that had brought you peace after your parents death. Of him. That was surely the same person, so why? Why did his face look so different? The peace his calmness he had brought you when you first saw him still held a special place in your heart, even though you didn't know him personally.  
  
Clinging onto that image, you began to jump out of your hiding place, to stop whatever was going on.  
  
 _Crash! Bang! Clatter!_  
  
Your body shook as the roof began to shake, expelling any of your previous confidence. Your mind retreated and so did your body, as you travelled to the opposite side of the roof as quickly as your legs could jump.  
  
There he stood, breathing heavily as he tried to calm himself. What happened?  
  
But before you could piece everything together, you saw the corner of his eye land on you.   
  
Instantly, a chill made it's way up your spine while his eye scanned your still figure.  
  
However, you were still, not frozen. Warily, your legs approached him, something he'd never seen anyone do.  
  
Your bravery would've seemed more like stupidity, but the truth was you'd seen worst. Been through worse. Or maybe not, you didn't know. But what you did know was letting someone else suffer what you'd already been through was immoral and only created more hate. You could see it in his eyes. The bloodlust just covered up emotions he probably didn't even know existed.   
  
You needed to reach out. You needed to help him. No-one had ever helped you, you'd had to help yourself, and you knew the pain of being all alone in a big world, screaming and crying silently while everyone ignored you.  
  
Shakily, you made your way to his figure, but he made no gesture that indicated he would hurt you, instead turning his eyes forward and trying to ignore you.   
  
You saw movement from below, and then realised that Dosu was gone.....and that Gaara was the cause.   
  
Now your heartbeat was in your ears and you were terrified. You had no idea how to help or comfort anymore. You were sure words weren't going to work.  
  
Gathering up your remaining courage, your arms opened form behind him and engulfed him in a time-stopping hug.  
  
It was then when he felt a strange sensation. One of peace and harmony. Your heartbeat was frenzied and he could feel his own increase just from being this close to you. What were you doing to him? He'd never had anyone make him feel this way, nor put their arms around him. He felt you give a tight squeeze to his body, as if you were trying to give him reassurance and it confused him. Hadn't you just witnessed a murder? Why weren't you afraid of him? However his thoughts were fuzzy from the heat you gave him with your body. He had never had sweaty palms like he did right now and it was getting harder and harder to breathe.  
  
He looked down to see fields of (h/c) hair. He didn't know why but he was so desperate to run his hands through them.   
  
Questions baffled him as you felt him relax in your grip.  
  
You had done it.  
  
Taking a step back, you put some space between the two of you, and instantly missed the sparks that were happening when you were embracing.  
  
Time stopped as his, now soft and shimmering eyes landed on you, but this time you weren't scared.  
  
This time you stared back at him with equal calmness.  
  
 **Kiba Inuzuka**  
  
Kiba was up against Naruto.  
  
He clearly didn't think much of it, as he bragged about how he was gonna 'take Naruto down' and 'beat the annoying guy to a pulp'.  
He always did boast, but that was just another part of his personality you had grown to like.  
  
Clearly, he had no idea of Naruto's quick progress.  
  
You knew though, and Kakashi may have been your inside source :)  
  
Being a proctor for the Chunin exams, you couldn't help but want to help Kiba cheat a bit or even warn him of what was to come, however there was no way you could, due to your very strict morals....and the fact the match had already started.  
  
(TIME SKIP FIGHT)  
  
He lost.  
  
You knew he would.  
  
Maybe if you had stopped the fight though, he wouldn't be beaten so badly he couldn't even currently stand, after all, it was clear to anyone before Naruto did his finishing move Kiba was already immobile.  
  
It was sorta your fault for letting the match drag on.  
  
You guilty stared at Kiba's battered body, but you were proud of him too.  
You were proud he hadn't stood down.  
Pride swelled in your chest as you tune out the world, focusing just on the pearly whiteness of Kiba's hospital bed.  
  
The colour white did always sooth you.  
  
You watched the heaving of his chest, and the lazy calmness as he lolled his head back slightly.  
  
Kiba made the cutest faces when he was asleep. Normally, he had on that annoying pout, or was confused, or was too busy being happy to even notice anything or anyone else, but when he slept his energy just drained out, leaving him with a small, curt smile and an overall peaceful expression.   
  
It was one you could get used to looking at.  
  
You watched as his nose twitched slightly at the strong smell of disinfectant. That's right, Kiba had an oversensitive nose...wait, did that mean his sense of smell was good, or if you touched his nose it would hurt or tickle him? Normally, you'd always thought it was smell, but maybe not.  
  
The thought baffled you, and you found yourself slowly moving in, gradually closing the space there was between you two. You plucked the nearest feather from wherever you can find a feather in hospital room, and lightly tickled the tip of Kiba's nose.  
  
It twitched.  
  
You watched in fascination, hovering over his face and waiting for a further reaction.  
  
You got one, alright, but not the one you were expecting.  
  
Kiba inhaled the feather up his nose, and shot up, frantically trying to pull out whatever had clogged up his left nostril airway.  
  
Surprised, you tried to get off him, but his forehead just banged with yours, and you, upon impact, were sent tumbling back slightly, into a sitting position on his hospital bed.   
  
Kiba got the worsened half of it though, not only was he still trying to pull out the feather, his head had hit off yours directly onto the board behind him, almost successfully knocking him out again.  
  
Why were you so close to him, anyway?!  
  
The meaning of the question finally dawned on him after he'd pulled out the feather and was rubbing the back of his head.  
  
 _You_ were close to _him._  
  
He felt his cheeks burn up before he could stop them, just at the thought of your face being inches away from his, and suddenly he felt lightheaded. He wasn't sure if this was from his realisation, or because he banged his head on the back of a metal board.  
  
He liked you, no, he seriously had feelings for you. Although they were bare minimum, he hadn't realised he was falling for your charm until boom! It happened. You were intoxicating to him.  
  
He looked up at you, every feature on your flustered face became more defined and beautiful then before, and he felt his heart beat speed up. Your lips looked so sexy and soft. He just wanted to-  
  
"Whyyyyyy?" Your angelic voice brought him back to reality.  
  
What justu had you cast on him?!  
  
He didn't bother answering you, instead, his mind travelled back to when he'd first met you, and how timid and shy you'd been  
  
As time had went on, you'd opened up, and he'd began seeing the snarky and feisty side of your personality. He liked every part of you.  
  
You were like a Princess to him.  
  
He wasn't sure though, did he really like you, or were his hormones just reacting to you because you were the first girl to get this close to him.  
  
He didn't know...only time would tell.  
  
 **Hatake Kakashi**  
  
Sasuke was one tough kid.  
  
You pitifully stared at him as the curse mark was sealed by Kakashi, flinching upon hearing his anguished cries.  
These Chunin exams had been one hell of a fight for Kakashi's team, that was for sure.  
  
At least Naruto passed the preliminaries with his amazing fight with Neji, you seriously didn't know he was coming along so well. That was to be expected as Jiraya, though, as he was one of the three legendary san-  
  
Silence that echoed of the walls of the chamber interrupted you as your thoughts began to wonder.   
  
Sasuke had stopped screaming, but Kakashi wasn't making a sound apart from the occasional flip of the his book page.  
  
Just by this, you could tell he was worried for his student, you'd been with him long enough to see some of his weird ways of showing concern and feelings. You desperately wanted to reach out to him, but you were never one for words, and he was too busy fake-reading his smut book to even notice you, so you'd have to settle for the second best thing...  
  
"Yo, Bakashi, I'm waiting, ya big perv, lets get outta here," You stood on your tiptoes and gently bonked his head while speaking, rolling your eyes as if you didn't care.   
  
Kakashi turned with a forced closed eyed smile, "Yeah, lets go,"  
  
"You don't have to fake smile at me." You deadpanned, making him sweat drop. He just ignored your comment all in all, looking a bit guilty as he began picking up Sasuke.  
  
Presence.   
  
No. Even worse. Incredible chakra coming from the wall of a chamber.  
  
Eyes closing, you sighed.  
  
You already knew who it was. The only person it could be.  
  
Orochimaru.  
  
Mentally bracing yourself to see his face, you squeezed your eyes shut before opening them and turning to face his smirking self.  
  
You'd heard a lot about this man, and you knew in return he'd probably heard a lot about you. That's why you had to be on high alert, making sure not even a glimpse of your necklace would be shown if there was any engagement in action.  
  
He eyed you both down with a menacing look decorating his twisted face.  
  
You looked over to Kakashi's shocked persona, as he nervously sweat-dropped, trying to stay clam in front of the legendary Sanin and failing.   
  
You sighed again while they engaged in a 'friendly' conversation.  
  
Kaka-Baka was practically shivering in his boots while talking, though, and his voice cracked while trying to get his words out.  
  
You could tell how much Kakashi's team meant to him, overall, and if they meant so much to him, that meant you should help him protect them. You could see the worth in Uzumaki, Haruno and the Uchiha who lay behind you, and his will only strengthened yours. For some reason, you felt a burning compassion to protect him, too, although you were too embarrassed to actually admit to it.  
  
Orochimaru took a step forwards.  
  
You jolted in front of Kakashi, seeing his already forming Chidori from the corner of your eye. You weren't scared, especially not of Orochimaru. This would be a piece of cake.  
  
"A quick one, huh," His voice sent shivers up your spine "and a Jonin, how interesting that speed is,"  
  
You froze. Had he already figured you out?  
  
Defiantly, you stared at the beast of a man before you, eyes filled with a ferocity that scared Kakashi.  
  
He stared in awe at your back, both dumbfounded and respectful of your courage.  
  
You were always so brave.  
  
You were good at everything he was bad at.  
  
You were his exact opposite.  
  
Finally, he realised the deepness of his feelings for you. He liked you as more than a friend.  
He prefers your company over anyone's on the face of the earth, but one thing was still a fact he had to consider...  
  
Did he care about you in that way...or was it just because you lived with him? And he had become comfortable in your presence. His feelings baffled him as always and he just couldn't tell how he felt at that moment. Instead, he focused on you, eying your figure as you stood in front of him.  
  
You truly were amazing.  
  
A wonder.  
  
Orochimaru turned, his snaky voice and laughter echoing in the room as he disappeared into the wall.   
  
Your shoulders slumped the moment he was out of sight, indicating you had relaxed.  
  
Turning to Kakashi to send him a brief glance.  
  
You had to go and catch up with Orochimaru, give the snake a good piece of your mind but you were surprised to feel a firm hand on you shoulder, stopping you effectively.  
  
"Forget it," Normally, Kakashi's words would've angered you, however, the only thing your mind was focusing on was him and the reassuring feeling of his hand which he had enveloped in yours. You could get used to this.  
  
He picked up Sasuke with one arm, throwing him over his shoulder, before leading you towards the doorway, and out of the chamber.  
  
 **Nara Shikamaru**  
  
You pulled Shikamaru's lazy ass along with since it was his match against the Suna girl called Temari, but he wouldn't budge.  
  
Tugging on his shirt, you tried to gently guide him towards the stadium, but he was really too lazy to go.  
  
Why were you such a drag sometimes?  
  
Why couldn't he just knock out on the bench? He surely had some time, but it appeared he was wrong, as the voices of the stadium grew nearer, he could hear the cheerings of Naruto.  
  
Why was that guy always so noisy?  
  
Shoving one of his fingers in his ear, he continued to let you pull him further into the huge hall. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to pull away from your soft, small, cute hands.....No. He needed to stop drifting off about this stuff. You were his friend, not anything more.  
  
Yeah.....  
  
You both made your way into the stands. Temari was already there, and she looked pretty fired up. Poor Shika.  
  
You giggled imagining their contrasting personalities and fighting styles. This was sure to be one heck of a fight, although not many onlookers agreed, they were quickly becoming impatient with waiting for Sasuke's battle.  
  
You watched in amusement as Shikamaru tried to worm his way out of Naruto's persistency.  
  
With one huge shove, Shikamaru's body went flying over the stands, and into the arena.  
  
The crowd was getting more displeased, and you could even hear some groans. Nevertheless, you conjured up your best smile, looking down at Shikamaru's too-lazy-to-even-stand body and disgruntled face.   
  
Just as his eyes connected with yours and he began to get lost in your (e/c) orbs, something went flying, landing right next to his face.  
A plastic Ramen cup?  
Then another.  
Then another.  
  
You had to stop a laugh as people began throwing heaps of trash at Shikamaru's still figure. You could tell he was getting more annoyed as minutes went by.  
  
"Get UP!" Temari shouted slightly, making him wince at her tone of voice.  
  
Ugh, she sounded like his mom too much.  
  
She began to take strides over to him, much to his dismay and your enjoyment, before holding her giant fan behind her head, and swinging it down full force on Shikamaru.  
  
He looked up at you, as if saying, 'save me, (Y/n), from this pure and absolute hell' before the fan came thrashing down.  
  
Did she really think that was enough to take down Konoha's laziest strategist?   
  
Shikamaru stood unscathed atop of two kunai and looking down at her with a sneer.  
  
"That's my Shikamaru!" You shouted encouragement as the fight started, not really thinking anything of your words.  
  
What you didn't realise was the fact you didn't say Shikamaru, you'd said ' _my Shikamaru_ ', those words alone made Shikamaru's heart beat faster and breath catch in his throat. Why would you say that?! Was he _yours?_ Were you _his?_  
  
His...he quite liked the sound of that. Did you really like him in that way?   
Did he really like you in that way?!  
  
He clutched his shirt where his suddenly accelerating heart was in his right hand, as he pressed his back up further against the tree.  
  
What were you doing to him and why were you doing it right now?!  
  
Wait, was that your idea of a confession? He desperately wanted to see your face in the stands to understand better, but he couldn't risk coming away from the shadows, it would foil his battle plan.  
  
This was driving him crazy.  
  
Suddenly fired up (although very slightly) he narrowed his eyes into slits, analysing his wind using opponent.  
  
If it was a fight she wanted, he would give her a fight she'd never forget.  
  
(TIME SKIP FIGHT)  
  
"NANI?!" You heard Naruto shout out at Shika, who said he was giving up.   
You couldn't quite believe it yourself, after all, he could've beat her.   
  
You quickly ran down the stands to meet him, but when he saw you he just looked away with a slight blush on his cheeks. And for the life of you, you couldn't understand this new, shy demeanour he was displaying.   
  
"S-Shika," You stuttered slightly, wondering if he was angry at you or something.  
  
"Did you mean what you said before?" It was hardly a mumble, you could barely hear his whisper, and the question sounded more rhetorical, as if he was speaking to himself, not addressing you. You thought of a reply for a second, not really knowing what he was talking about.  
  
At last, you decided to just say what you were thinking, "What did I say???"   
  
Shikamaru closed his eyes as if in pain for a second. You seriously didn't know.....whelp, there was nothing wrong with taking his time to tell you how he felt, he had all the time in the world, after all.  
  
With that in mind, he just dropped it, and let you stand beside him in peaceful silence.


	6. First Date

**Needed a shorter and sweeter sort of chapter to lift the weight slightly of what's to come and what's happened in this scenario book.  
SO this chapter is set at.....the mother place of all relationships.....Ichiraku Ramen! in most scenarios, of course.**  
  
 **Naruto Uzumaki**  
  
Damn, how you hated getting out of bed in the winter.  
Everything was just _so_ cosy and warm _in_ the bed, while everything outside was cold and freezing. Your teeth chattered just thinking about it.  
  
Since you were a officially a Chunin meant on a normal day you had duties to be getting on with, and you would be dragged out of the comforting embrace of your bed, but today wasn't a normal day.  
  
It was the weekend.  
A time of joy and sleep.  
  
And nothing, and by nothing you meant absolutely nothing, would drag you out of your bed, not today.  
Everything had just been so hectic lately, you needed to retreat back into the cavern of dreams and tranquillity.  
  
Thinking this, you allowed your mind to completely shut off, ignoring all sounds around you, which is why you failed to notice Naruto breaking down your door.  
  
He ran into your bedroom screaming, "(Y/N)! ARE YOU ALIVE! I SAW YOUR LIGHTS WERE TURNED OFF AND I WONDERING IF YOU WANTED TO GO ON A DATE WITH ME WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BE LINKED TO KAKASHI SENSEI'S MASK!!!!"  
  
Groggily, you re-open your eyes, thinking its too early to be making a racket, but also wondering what Naruto meant by date.  
  
Looking up properly, your eyes met Naruto's flustered blue orbs, and travelled around his body. His hand were shaking slightly, he was biting his lip, he looked ready to explode.  
  
The Uzumaki Naruto just asked you on a date.  
  
You felt your face flush as you got out of your bed quickly, completely forgetting about your earlier thoughts.   
  
He watched as you ran off into your bathroom, but then realised you didn't give him an actual answer, or even say anything, so he chose to wait for you outside, but the more he stood, the more worried he got you would turn him down, just like Sakura had earlier. He tried to not let that get to him, but it still kinda hurt.   
  
He hoped not to get turned down again as he waited.  
  
You walked outside, dressed in casual everyday attire, before smiling up at him.  
That smile made his heart beat faster.  
  
"Come on! (Y/n)-chan! I need to tell you the plan..." he quickly grabbed your wrist and pulled you away, masking his insecurity.  
  
(TIME SKIP)  
  
You were at Ichiraku ramen, ready to execute the plan. You loved how Naruto called this kind of stake-out a date, it was so exciting.   
  
Kakashi-Sensei came into the ramen store, just as planned, with Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke.  
  
Kakashi-sensei sat down, and you all ordered him and only him food, you didn't want to be distracted, after all. You all sat down next to eachother, squashed up and trying to stop the anticipation as Kakashi pulled down his mask.   
This was it...!  
  
Just as he was about to reveal his face, three idiots jumped into the scene. Ino, Choji and Shikamaru, effectively ruining everything.  
  
You were disappointed, but it was fun to spend the day with Naruto and his team.  
  
After a while of laughing and being frustrated, Naruto approached you privately after it was all over, "(Y/n), that wasn't the most romantic date, ya know, an-"   
  
"Naruto" You cut him off swiftly before he started rambling, "I had fun with you, this was by far the best date I've ever gone on because of how unique it was, thankyou for giving me this experience, it was...amazing," You finished your speech and beamed at him, almost stopping his heart, "No, actually...." Those words actually stopped his heart with fear. Was he so wrong to hope...,"It was amazing...believe it!"   
  
You used his catchphrase, and hastily pressed your lips to his cheek before you could chicken out, then ran into your house at full speed, leaving him gently touching the ghost of where you lips had been.  
  
 **Sasuke Uchiha**  
  
Finally, break.  
You felt like you'd waited forever to come off chunin duties as you wandered around, thinking about what you should eat for lunch. The you spotted them. Three Genin, one of them catching your eye with his blue attire.  
  
Sasuke.  
  
Your eyes wouldn't look away, no matter how hard you willed them to leave his composed figure. It was just like the day you met him, you were captivated.  
  
You continued looking at him, willing yourself to believe you wouldn't be caught.  
  
Suddenly, playful onyx eyes looked in your direction.  
  
You tried to look away, but to no avail. Instead, you watched in horror as he began walking towards you, a fuming Sakura and hyperactive Naruto not far behind him.   
  
"Tell these idiots," You looked at him in confusion. What was he talking about? "Tell them they'll never see what's under Kakashi's mask, and to stop bothering me." He spoke gruffly, before attempting to slump off, but you caught his arm.  
  
He looked down at you in happy surprise which he tried to cover up with annoyance.   
  
"What if he has..." You began, "Buck teeth"   
  
Sasuke's eyes widened in horror at the thought, but he wasn't pulling away from your grip, so you took that as an invitation to continue. You nodded at Naruto who opened his mouth to speak too,  
  
"Or..." The knucklehead began, "Lips like Cod-Roe," Now Sasuke was trying to stop trembling as he slowly swallowed his pride, turning around to face you all.  
  
"Fine..." You all stared at him in shock, "What's the plan"  
  
(TIME SKIP)  
  
The Ramen plan had failed, so you had to resort to just asking Kakashi-Sensei. But you knew he wouldn't just give in that easily, he was a tricky man.  
  
You frowned, thinking about your choices. Sasuke seemed to notice the crease in your eyebrows as he walked over passively, bending down to your hiding spot (you were hiding so Kakashi didn't see you) and flicking you in the forehead.  
  
You grumbled curse words as he gave you his little smirk.  
  
"Don't get too caught up in dumb stuff like this" He said, a gentleness in his tone.   
  
You frowned and huffed, "I don't care...baka"   
  
But he just shook his head and smiled down at you, which was something you'd never seen him do, before reaching his hand out to help you up.   
  
Holding the heat in your cheeks, you dusted off your clothes with his help.  
  
"Do you always get this dirty on last minute dates," Sasuke refused to make eye contact when saying this, looking anywhere but you while a light blush coated his pale cheeks.  
  
This was a...date?  
  
You felt your body get warmer form the prospect of going on a date with Sasuke, as you allowed him to grab your hand roughly in his, and lead you to where the next plan would take place.  
  
But all you could think was that Sasuke might actually like you.....  
  
 **Subaku No Gaara**  
  
After the Chunin exams, you decided that Konoha wasn't the right place for you, and, after conveying your thoughts to Temari and the Hokage, they both agreed you should move to Suna.  
  
Why Temari? You ask, because ever since you talked to her, you'd become instant friends: you being as awkward and quiet as you were and her being as loud and outgoing, your opposite personalities attracted and now you were close friends.  
  
So, instead of living in Konoha, you moved to Suna, where people soon found out about your origin, and began looking at you with hateful eyes.  
  
You were used to it, by then, and knew you just had to prove your worth by being the best Chunin you could.  
  
Your eyes glimmered as you thought of your new future.  
  
Then you remembered.  
  
Temari was a sister to _Gaara_.  
  
Lately, things had been strange whenever you saw him, after all, you had hugged him randomly, and stared at him a lot.  
  
Plus, you had witnessed him killing someone, so....  
  
Needless to say, you still wanted to go over to Temari's house like normal friends do, and apparently Gaara had changed since you'd last saw him, so maybe things would go okay.  
  
You shut your eyes and prayed, but that wasn't the best thing to be doing when walking down the street with boxes that towered over your sight. As soon as you closed your eyes, you tripped. Thank the world the street was empty, or someone would've seen you falling, and that would've been embarrassing.  
  
You scrunched your closed eyes, ready for impact but nothing came.  
  
Strong arms stopped you from falling. Looking up you and your saviour instantly recognised eachother and blushed bright red.  
  
In front of you was Gaara.   
  
Awkwardly, you smiled at him, getting your stuff from the floor.  
  
He instantly bent down to help you.   
  
Just as you were about to pick up a book, his hand went over yours, just like a cliché movie. Burning, he pulled his hand away, while you picked up the book yourself.  
  
"Sorry" He said it begrudgingly, like he'd never said it before, but you couldn't understand why he was saying it in the first place. He had nothing to apologise for.  
  
You shook your head and thanked him, but after that there wasn't much to say.  
  
He stared at you, as if he was waiting for you to speak, but he surprised the two of you by talking first, "Why have you got boxes?"  
  
You smiled.  
  
"I'm moving to Suna, I like it here." You stated firmly.  
  
He smiled a wry smile. He was happy you would be in Suna....the feeling of happiness.   
Suddenly, he got an idea on how to explore the so-called feeling of 'love' more,  
"Would you like me to show you around,"   
  
"YES!" you replied a little too fast and excitedly but he didn't mind, as he began guiding you through Suna.  
  
(TIME SKIP)  
  
Somehow, you had ended up on the roof of Gaara's home, admiring the sunset with him.  
  
The sky was a swirl of different patterns and colours.  
  
Looking over, you realised his eyes were on you, not the sunset, and tried to hide your heated face from his intense stare.   
  
If looks could kill, you'd be dead.  
  
Then, he opened his mouth to speak,  
"Do you hate me?"  
  
WHAT?!   
Your head turned frantically to see his kawaii panda face looking back at you. Awww. Wait. No.   
  
Quickly, you said the first thing that came into your mind,  
"I don't hate you Gaara! I could never!" Your words came out tumbling after eachother, and your awkwardness was coming off in waves, then you had an idea, "Besides...." You trailed off.  
  
His eyes narrowed as he tried to anticipate what you'd say next. When people went quiet or frantic around him it was usually out of fear, so he wasn't expecting a lot.  
  
A small smile graced your lips, "I wouldn't be on this date with you, if I didn't like you..." You trailed off again, then realised what you'd just said. That sounded like a confession.   
  
The smile fell from your lips as you turned towards him, a light pink blush on your face, "AS IN AS A FRONF, I MEAN FREN, I MEAN ITS IN A FRIENDLY WAY-" You looked at his confused face and instantly felt more embarrassed, and he seemed to have caught on to what you were trying to say, as he was shifting uncomfortably and trying to loosen his shirts grip on his neck.   
  
A blush could be seen on the tips of his ears.  
  
Then he coughed.  
  
You cringed visibly and decided the intense awkwardness was overwhelming.   
  
You couldn't stay any longer.  
  
Running and stumbling, you shouted a quick bye before exiting the scene, leaving Gaara to ponder the feeling he was getting in his chest.  
  
"Why...." He looked down at his chest in confusion, but on the inside....he was overjoyed.  
  
 **Kiba Inuzuka**  
  
Kiba being Kiba, of course he had tried to ask you on dates before, but you took joy in turning him down playfully, as he seemed to like showing you off.  
  
You didn't like being treated like a mans new toy, so you took some of his pride with you each time you'd turn him down.  
  
Secretly, though, you loved the way he'd pout and slump off and you'd thought his ever changing reactions were sorta-well- cute. Just as you were thinking this, a grumpy Inuzuka slouched through the door of your workplace, making the bell _ding dong!_ on his way in.  
  
Straight away, you noticed his cranky demeanour and watched in silence as he sat down in his normal place in front of you.  
'what's got his nickers in a twist'  
  
Normally, a flirty (cute) pick up line, or a cheesy, old joke would be coming your way, but he just looked depressed, like a mini raincloud was hanging over his head.  
  
Not liking this, you bent over the side of your desk, trying to get him to look in your eyes before you asked him anything, but he refused to even make eye contact.  
  
Straight away, you knew it had something to do with you.  
  
And you were absolutely right.  
  
Kiba was upset because the girl he desperately liked and had a crush on, may not like him back. Now that he thought about it, you had always refused him when he asked you out, as if you didn't want him too get too close to you.  
  
You were giving out mixed signals towards him, so he decided to meekly ask you out today, if you refused, then he'd just stop bothering you forever, and would suffer the heartbreak.  
  
"(Y/n)," He began in a quiet voice and you had to strain your voice to hear him, "I was wondering....would ya....wanna go on a date?" he managed to mumble.  
  
You could tell something was on his mind, and it was bothering you.  
  
Kiba was your close friend, and you knew him quite well, those words were spoken too...shyly.   
  
You stare back at him in shock.  
  
"Since you seem sincere for once," You replied with a warmth in your eyes, "Of course" A big smile graced your face.  
You grabbed the keys to the store and threw them to your co-worker, who was conveniently taking your shift  
  
Kiba just gaped until you grabbed his hand lightly, and tugged him away out from the store.  
The door went _ding dong!_ as you both left.  
  
Just as you began walking, Kiba pulled your hand in a direction of Konoha you hadn't explored yet.  
  
Well, if Kiba looked so eager, you knew it had to be good.  
  
He led you through winding streets -not even a peep coming out of him- until you arrived atop a small mountain, where there were blankets and a happy Akamaru, who seemed to be playing guard dog.  
  
You blinked twice until your eyes were adjusted to the darkness, and looked up at the canvas of twinkling stars that painted the sky. Different constellations could be seen, and the world was so black away from the city lights.  
  
The countryside had always been your favourite place to come to as a kid, as your mom would show you the big dipper and other constellations, and you would sit for hours trying to memorise the shapes. It had been a long time since you'd come this far out, and taken time out to see the stars. Life had just turned so busy after. And Kiba...  
  
You didn't like talking about your past, but with Kiba you felt comfortable, as he was the one who watched and heard you phone the police on him, plus, he was the first person you met other than Shikamaru. So you'd told Kiba you loved to watch the stars as a kid, and somehow, he had remembered.  
  
You couldn't hold the tears as you turned and engulfed him in a bone-crushing hug. It was perfect. You couldn't even find the words to explain the feeling that had exploded inside of you.  
  
Everything was just....perfect.  
  
"Shhhh," He soothed your tears slightly as he ran his hands through your hair gently, before turning your head back towards the sky, "The best part hasn't begun yet," He whispered, drifting off.  
  
Just then, one star could be seen shooting, then another, then another.  
  
A meteor shower.   
  
**Kakashi Hatake**  
  
You backed up against a wall and sighed in defeat.   
You couldn't believe you had agreed to this.  
  
Naruto frolicked around with Sakura and Sasuke as they tempted Kakashi into eating ramen at ichiraku, where you were sitting behind the counter, ready to snap a picture of mask-less Kakashi.  
  
In your defence, if someone could be that good looking with a mask, then without it they must be......yeah. So that's why you were crouched beneath the table top, while Ayame and Teuchi (the Ramen Guy + his daughter who were in on your little plan) prepared a bowl of Ramen for the unsuspecting Kakashi.  
  
"Are you guys sure your being serious, every other time you ask me to come here with you guys and offer to pay for my meal you play some sort of prank," He stated bluntly.  
  
Instantly, you broke out in sweat.  
  
They did _not_ mention they played pranks on Kakashi....that wasn't very nice.....why didn't they invite you? You loved teasing him the way he teased everyone else, and pranking was your speciality. Oh well, you were going to have to pull a few later on....anyways, the reason you were nervous was because, if Kakashi was suspecting something, then, as a fully trained ninja, he should've been able to dodge it with ease, and that meant you would never see the stupid Baka's face.   
  
You heard a thump as he sat down and your heartrate skyrocketed. You were about to do it...  
  
You slowly rose over the top of the counter once you heard slurping. You could hear Sakura, Ino and Choji ruining everything, but that didn't matter to you....  
  
 _You were about to see..._  
  
You held the camera up but not your head up, too overcome with anxiety to see his face up close, snapping as many pictures you could until you heard a 'done, thanks!'  
  
 _This was it..._  
  
Your hands shakily reached out the pull open the camera, revealing photo's which were slowly coming to life the more you waved them.  
  
 _You were really about to see...._  
  
You turned them to face you, and your face fell.  
  
 **That was not Kakashi's face.**  
  
You seethed with rage before standing up over the counter, shoving the now prominent pictures in Kakashi's unsuspecting face.  
  
"THIS IS NOT YOUR FUDGING FACE!" You angrily blurted, hearing large groans from Naruto's team, as they realised you had failed too.   
  
Kakashi simply smiled at you through his mask, before throwing his arm lazily over your shoulder.  
His smile turned into a smirk as he guided you two away from his team, holding you by both your shoulders and steering you in the opposite direction.  
  
None of his team followed, too confused by the turn of events.  
  
Slowly, you simmered down, to see you and Kakashi alone.  
  
He turned to with a smirk you couldn't see, "Now, now, (Y/n), If you wanted to go on a date with me, you didn't have to get my team involved, just come up to me and ask~" He slowly backed you up against a wall, "Besides...." He whispered in your left ear, "I'd much more prefer it if it was the two of us."  
  
Your eyes widened in shock while Kakashi backed off, smiling at you gently, before offering his arm to you, like a true gentleman.   
  
Well...there was no way you would take it.  
First he reads Icha Icha, and now this?!?!  
  
"PERV!" You felt your face burn under his unfazed smile, so you chose to lash out at him,  
"YOURABIGFATPERVANDYOURNOTHOTORMYSTERIOUSATALLANDIDONTLIKEYOU" Everything you said was a lie and you and him knew it.  
  
That's why he made no move to stop you when you began walking away, simply smiling in amusement.  
  
You huffed your complaints before taking off in the other direction, mumbling a faint 'Bakashi' under your breath.  
  
 **Shikamaru Nara**  
  
Shikamaru Nara did not like to rush things. Taking everything slow was his way of life, but when he realised the world was full of men who could take interest in you, he suddenly decided life was too short to not ask you out.  
  
So today was the day.  
  
He was absolutely positive on how he wanted to tell you his feelings, and when.  
  
A date.  
He had it all planned, and the best part was, he made sure none of his annoying friends knew about it. They always made things such a drag.  
  
Major eye-rolling at just the thought of them, he stepped outside his house, feeling the cool air brush his face. He'd heard from Naruto that Ichiraku Ramen was a place you enjoyed going to, and, although cloud watching was more his confession style, he'd decided to step outside his comfort zone and take you there.  
  
He walked over to your house with a bored expression, but in reality he was swimming with nerves.  
  
Would you like him back? Would you like the food? Would you friendzone him? Would you admit you actually hated him and his lazy personality? The last one really hurt, though.  
  
Shika never really cared about what people thought of him, but suddenly he was seeing he wasn't exactly boyfriend material. He wasn't a jock, nor a nerd, nor a basket case, or a pretty boy, just a really lazy, smartass guy.  
  
What if lazy guy wasn't your type?   
  
Suddenly, the door clicked open when he was ready to turn back the way he came, and you walked out with a cute (fav/colour) dress on, a huge smile present on your face.  
  
You were surprised at seeing him at your house.  
  
He fought a blush just looking at you, and looked you directly in the face, before a small smirk graced his lips.  
  
"Wanna go out to Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto told me the Ramen's good and I was just walking outside your house when I felt hungry," He tried to stop smiling down fondly at you., "Y'know, as a date."  
  
You, on the other hand, had never heard Shika talk a sentence that long without saying, 'man, what a drag' halfway through.  
  
You were flabbergasted by his change in attitude, but were also glad you were trying dress-up randomly before he came,  
"S-sure," DID YOU SERIOUSLY JUST STUTTER IN FRONT OF SHIKA?! Your mind screamed at you while Shikamaru smirked, noting it as a good sign.   
  
Progress.  
  
He smiled before walking ahead of you slightly, so you were left to look at his back until you arrived at your destination.  
  
You sat down and ordered before you realised something. Shika was frowning and fidgeting, looking a bit uneasy but trying to mask it. It looked as if he was going to speak, but didn't want to say it.  
  
You'd been around Shika long enough to know he had problems conveying his feelings, so you spoke before he might say something he regretted later on.  
  
"Shika," You began softly, "You don't have to say it."  
  
He looked surprised but quickly got over it   
  
After all, your EQ was quite high and you'd known Shikamaru for some time now, living in the Nara household.  
  
Since Shikamaru was such a strategical person, you knew maintaining relationships was hard for him, as the human mind was a mystery he couldn't understand.   
  
Therefore, you figured whatever problem he had would be overcome with time.  
  
He sighed in relief.  
Things had been moving too fast for his liking  
He was glad he hadn't said anything.  
  
Maybe he'd tell you one day, you surely had some sort of idea on how he felt towards you.  
  
He smiled as he watched you eat your (fav/food) from Ichiraku so quick you practically inhaled it.  
  
What could you say? You were hungry.

* * *

**Chapter took forever but I'm glad I got it out. Thankyou ever loyal readers :)**


	7. Pain: The Third Hokages Death Seal

**Naruto Uzumaki**  
  
Naruto was torn.   
Torn to pieces.  
To bits.  
  
Why?  
  
Because the Hokage had just committed the reaper death seal to protect you all.  
  
You looked down emptily at his grave, not sure how to feel.  
  
Everyone was upset, but you felt like you'd been hollowed out. He was really gone. You'd never see his smile, or his 'this-is-a-serious-matter' face again. He was gone permanently, only leaving his legacy behind.....It wasn't like you'd never dealt with loss before, but feeling the burden others also had to carry was the most painful part for you.  
  
You suddenly heard a low sound come from next to you.  
  
Sorrowfully looking up, you saw Naruto, who was standing next to you, with his hand in front of his face.  
  
He didn't want to let you see him cry, for you to see his weakness.   
  
His pain must've been far harder to endure.   
  
The only person to accept him since the start was gone.  
  
His hand covered his eyes while he sobbed, unable to stop the waves of emotion he was feeling,  
  
"Why? Why did the Old man Hokage have to die? Because shinobis have to be emotionless!" He turned and blubbered out his expense, before looking back at the Hokages grave, "He didn't deserve this..."  
  
You looked up, remembering one of the things he'd said to you,  
  
 _"One day, I won't be here, the same way your parents aren't, but you must become stronger, and test your will of fire."_  
  
What he meant was still unclear, but you now understood why he'd said it.  
Pain wasn't to be endured alone, nor bottled up like you had tried to do, it was to be let out.  
  
A whimper escaped your lips, then a tear trickled down your cheek.  
  
There was no point in trying to hold it back.  
  
Your body went into a slight spasm, as you dropped down onto your knees.  
  
Your mind circled with images of the Hokage, then a worse image entered your mind.  
  
Your mother and father.  
  
Their dead bodies haunted your dreams, but you refused to mourn them, trying to forget without forgiving.  
  
It was impossible.  
  
More whimpers escaped your mouth as you trembled.  
  
Now Naruto noticed.  
  
He'd never seen you at such a low point. An expression of horror was on your face, like you were a ghost not meant to be there. He could see tears glistening in your eyes as you broke down in front of him. His heart was aching for you, as he put his hand lightly over it, hearing the drumming in his ears. He truly cared for you, needed you.  
  
He needed you more than you probably needed him, though you weren't aware of his undying passion.  
  
His first date had become his first love.   
  
He needed to do something, comfort you somehow, but he wasn't sure of how to do it.   
  
He had a feeling something far bigger was on your mind.   
  
So he just settled for what was easiest for him to do in his current state, and reached his arms over, enveloping your shaking form. He wanted to transfer as much strength he could to you.  
  
He wanted you to know he was there for you.  
  
Immediately, you sunk into the warmth of the embrace, savouring the feeling of his cheek against yours.  
  
Just then, you felt something soft on your cheek.  
  
A kiss.  
  
Naruto planted a soft kiss on your left cheekbone, reassuring you.  
  
In that moment, you swore you'd protect him and the people closest to you at all costs.  
  
Even death.  
  
 **Sasuke Uchiha**  
  
You stood silently in rows along with everyone else.  
  
Everyone was there.  
They'd all come to pay their respects to the man, the man who'd sacrificed himself for his village.  
  
The great Third.  
  
On one side of you was Sasuke, and the other was Naruto, even he was quite for once.  
  
You knew all the things the Hokage had done for his people and respected him as a rightful and kind leader.  
He was strong.  
  
Your mind thought back to how he'd treated you, no matter how hard you tried to move on and forget the depressing memories.  
  
You'd lived in the Hokages building as per his request, and he was like a father figure to you. There would be no-one sitting in the big chair and writing away at the endless pile of papers, nor walking towards his window and talking with his back faced to you, and the fact broke your heart.  
  
He wouldn't be the one who summoned you to go on random missions anymore, and told you everything would be fine no matter the situation.  
  
And though you acted like you didn't care, as if you were passive towards his death, on the inside you were being cut into pieces.  
  
You played on a bored and tired expression, but your mind was swirling with doubts and regrets.  
  
You wished you'd spent more time with him.  
  
In an effort not to lash out, you bit your lip hard, trying to delay an oncoming outburst, but you knew it was inevitable.  
  
You couldn't stop the storm, the same way you couldn't make the sun rise from the west and set in the east, the same way you couldn't bring him back...  
  
Your nails dug into your palms, drawing blood.  
  
The dripping crimson caught Sasuke's eye.  
Your face was completely calm, yet your hands were balled up rightly, fingernails infiltrating your skin, but you played it off, feigning nonchalance.  
  
He shook his head at your hopelessness.   
  
Your hand brushed against his and in one swift motion, his big hand engulfed your fragile one, capturing it.  
  
Feeling the sudden warmth, you looked up at him, expecting him to pull away from you as soon as he felt embarrassed. However, he didn't, instead he gently lifted your hand up to his face, until it hovered over slightly. You could feel is hot breath on your bleeding hand, as rain trickled down his figure.  
  
He knew better than anyone the pain of losing someone dear to you, and he would do anything in that moment to make you feel better.  
  
His unusually filled with emotion onyx eyes never left the Hokage's grave while he gently leaned down and planted the most genuinely understanding kiss you'd ever had on your left hand. His lips were soft, and kind, and comforting. Everything nice and cosy was all put into one little kiss. He kept his lips to your hand for a while, trying to express all his feeling towards you without words.  
  
Words had never been his strong suite anyway.  
  
After seconds that felt like hours, he finally pulled away, but refused to completely let go of you, and kept his hand firmly on yours, trying to tell you he was there for you.  
  
You felt him give a light squeeze, and he wanted nothing more then to hug you, and let you bury your face into his chest but he knew he couldn't with so many people there, he was just too insecure. And you understood, the last thing you wanted to do was make him uncomfortable.  
  
You remembered the old man's favourite quote, " _And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye._ " Now more than ever you remembered it and it was more prominent in your mind.  
  
Sometimes the heart can see what the head fails to envision.  
  
Once he had added with a completely straight face, " _But nothing is invisible to the Sharingan and Byakugan._ " Around the time you thought he was joking, then realised he wasn't and continued to question if his age was getting to his sanity.  
  
You smiled for the first time since arriving in Konoha in fondness of the memory.  
  
You were starting to see what he meant.  
  
 **Subaku No Gaara**  
  
You were chatting happily away with Temari, while you both stood guard in front of the towering sand blob that Suna called a gate. The sun flared down and it was impossibly hot.  
  
Wafting your hand in your face, you turned to look left, a big smile on your face, when you saw a bird.  
  
It was strange.  
  
It was a bird from the leaf, your forever home. Although you had moved to Suna, you would always be a person of the leaf, no matter what happened or where you went, that was the only proud label you wore.  
  
Instead of going straight to the Kazekage, it spotted you, and instantly began swooping and swerving in your direction.  
  
You were startled at first, but slowly got over the shock and realised the message was for you, not the people of Suna.  
  
Speaking of them, they were looking at you with dubious eyes, they probably suspected you of being a spy or something. 'Great..' You thought, 'Now they have another reason to doubt me'.   
  
Rolling your eyes, you tried to get rid of the increasing feeling of fear that was building up in the pit of your stomach. If the Hokage had to sent you it personally, then it must've been important.  
  
You could feel your lips get dryer and hands sweat more profusely than before.  
  
Temari looked over to you worriedly, she had a bad feeling about this.  
  
Just as you were about to open the scroll, you saw Gaara and Kankuro approach.  
  
You waved them off as Gaara took Temari's place, looking over your shoulder curiously.  
  
"(Y/n), you got a letter?"   
  
You didn't even bother to answer his question, the anticipation was becoming to much.  
  
Quickly, you broke of the sealing bondage, and licked your lips dryly, before reading.  
  
 _"Dear (Y/n) (l/n),  
I regret to be the one to inform you of this but the village has been in pure havoc since there is no Hokage. Sadly, he is not with us anymore-" _  
  
You stopped reading, and Gaara stopped too.  
  
Your whole body froze, your mind swimming with images of the Hokage. This had to be a prank, please say this was Naruto's effort to get you back into the village. No...the handwriting wasn't his, nor Sakura, nor Sasuke, not Kiba. Not anyone you knew. Your eyes travelled down to the end of the small letter,  
_"Signed, Kakashi"_  
Your heart broke in two.  
The old man Hokage who'd done so many things for you was gone, into oblivion.   
The memories felt scratchy and old, replaying in your mind.  
  
Stupidly, you continued reading,   
_"-The village cannot function properly as many are busied grieving his death. I took time out writing this letter to you for your informational needs. I know I needed to inform you more than anyone, and this letter was first priority, I hope you can come to Konoha, Naruto would love to see you, as would we."  
Signed Kakashi_  
  
You read over the lines and suddenly your head was aching.  
  
Your brain was threatening to escape your head while your heart pace was slowing.  
  
Suddenly, you felt very light headed.  
  
The world became a frenzy of distorted colours, the sky was tumbling and the ground came up to meet your face.  
  
Before it could, a wall of sand caught you, and hoisted to you in the air.   
  
You saw the bright, red hair and gently said, "I'm fine Gaara, put me down"  
  
But that wasn't true.  
  
You could feel your body get hotter and beginning to malfunction as he held you close to his chest, transferring you into his warm, comfortable embrace. He knew the pain of losing someone.  
  
And he was determined to help you through it.  
  
Your mind ran circles, but one thought always came back,   
  
"Get....to Konoha" You uttered out, wheezing through your heavily laboured breaths.   
  
You managed to hear Temari's soft gasp, and saw her blurry figure holding the letter, before she dropped it to the ground and bounded over to you and Gaara.   
  
You could hear her shouting in the distance, calling out to other guards probably.  
  
Gaara soothingly ran his fingers through your hair, not saying anything.  
  
Slowly, you blacked out, giving into the darkness, pain and sorrow that enveloped you.  
  
 **Kiba Inuzuka**  
  
Everyone had come, from far and near lands to honour the third Hokage's death, paying their respects.  
  
Now, though, the funeral had ended and everyone was gone.  
  
All but you.  
  
You continued to stare at his grave blankly.  
  
You'd cried so much tears wouldn't even come anymore.   
  
The world seemed dark to your dead eyes as you scanned the clear cemetery around you. Everything was wet, a result of the previous downpour and you could feel the mud under your shoes squelching. It was like the light had been taken away from the world, like the stars that made up the sun were scattered to the four winds. It was like the clouds had overcome everything, leaving everyone confused and unknowing to what would happen next. The storm had passed, but what followed was a mist like no other, which clouded peoples senses and brang with it the unfathomable.   
  
You looked up at the sky, wishing things could've turned out different, wishing someone had saved the Hokage.  
That was nothing more than a desire, though, nothing would ever be the same again and he was gone, forever.  
  
Forever.  
  
Just as you were about to ponder the true meaning of the word/life, you heard a rustle in the nearby bushes.   
  
You sighed.  
  
Walking over, you could hear Kiba saying, 'SHush AKaMarU, or (Y/n) WiLL FinD Us' Then you could hear him muffling Akamaru's barks.  
  
You coughed.  
  
Kiba gulped.  
  
Slowly, he got out of his 'hiding place', smiling sheepishly at you, but you couldn't conjure the strength to smile back.  
  
His smile fell, the corners of his mouth tugging down in worry.  
  
Your eyes were dead, and you were fiddling with your t-shirt and biting at your lip. Unlike other people, when dealing with loss, you didn't try to hold back tears, and let them all out, but the aftermath of that was you became unnecessarily shy and anxious around people. It had become a habit after remembering the gruesome way your parents died, and re-realising the lack of humanity humans actually carry.  
  
You also became very quite, afraid to voice your feelings because you knew you'd just break all over again.  
  
Knowing this, Kiba knew the best way to help you move on would be talking it out, but he had no idea how to get that to happen.  
  
Your eyes drifted back to the Hokages grave, attention focusing elsewhere when Akamaru barked at you.  
  
Staring in fear and shock, you watched as Akamaru began to growl at you angrily, as if you were a stranger.  
Now Akamaru thought you were a stranger. Your day was just getting worst and worst. Now he hated you. The thought of the loveable dog despising you made your heart swell.  
  
He began barking at you repeatedly, frightening you.  
  
Before any further harassment could ensue, Kiba stood in front of you, as barrier between you and Akamaru.  
  
Almost instantly, Akamaru began licking his paws and acting as if nothing had happened, but you were shaking with fear.  
  
Kiba turned worriedly to you, seeing you shaking, and was unsure of what to do. The hurt was enough to make you blurt everything out, "The Hokage is gone and I'm alone and everything's going wrong, Kiba, I don't know what to do and I don't have anyone who's here for me other than you!" You managed to say what was on your mind in one sentence.  
  
Your throat became clogged up and you began to wheeze slightly.   
  
Gently, you felt Kiba's arms round your shaking self, instantly calming your mind.  
  
He was roughly hugging you, lifting your feet of the ground, but his hands were rubbing circles into your back softly.  
  
Then you realised.  
  
This was reality without the Hokage.  
  
It began to rain again, soaking you and Kiba but neither of you cared, you were each others home, you didn't even need shelter.  
  
Even if the Hokage was gone, you still had the people of Konoha and most importantly, Kiba.  
  
Kissing his nose lovingly, he turned bright red.  
  
You laughed for the first time in days.  
  
 **Kakashi Hatake**  
  
"NO, Kakashi!"  
You were super pissed.  
  
You didn't want to see the old mans grave. It brang back too many memories. Yet here Kakashi was, trying (quite desperately) to get you to go to the funeral service.  
  
"Its rude to leave a lady at home," There he goes again with this gentleman act.  
  
You frowned.  
  
"Chivalry is dead!" You sigh, wanting him to go away desperately so you could break down in the house instead of in front of him. If he kept pushing you to the edge, you would just snap.  
  
"Oh well, I'll just be going," Kakashi bowed his head sadly, his shaggy hair falling forwards as he made his way towards the door.  
  
With your back faced to him, you waited until you heard the click of the door.  
  
 _Click!_  
  
The small sound echoed through the now empty house. The sound reminded you of the fact you were all alone. The Hokage had passed away.  
  
You wished you hadn't gotten so close to him before his death. It would've made things easier. You couldn't help but wonder if you could've saved him.  
  
You were _there._  
  
You remembered banging desperately on the forcefield, screaming 'Lord Third' at the top of your lungs. He said he would be there for you, he made you believe you would actually be okay. You should've known better, getting close to people just leads to being hurt. The way of the Shinobi was emotionless for a reason.  
  
Normally, you followed the code, but you'd went ahead and broken it.  
  
And look at where you were now.  
  
Angrily, you punched the wall, making the paint crumble off, but you were too distraught to care. All of the regrets from your past were catching up to you, re-slamming themselves in your face. The more you thought about it, the more you wanted to just break down and cry, but you wouldn't.   
  
Crying showed weakness and you weren't weak.  
  
You were close to bursting and going full strength on the wall when you felt a hand grab your arm, stopping you.  
  
You looked up, fire burning in your eyes.   
  
Kakashi tried to give you his closed eye smile, but it wasn't coming off with the same effect. He had never seen you so emotional, it was hard to smile at you.  
  
You wanted the stupid air-head to get off you and go get lost on 'the path of life', but it was clear Kakashi wasn't going anywhere. He would never leave you in the first place.  
  
You clicked.  
  
"You were there the whole time." You say, each word laced with venom. He looked down at you with worry in his eyes, but you only saw pity. Angrily, you tried to pull your arm away from his, but it wouldn't listen to your command.  
  
You _liked_ his warmth. It was reassuring.  
You couldn't bring yourself to pull away from him and that was the truth.   
  
Instead of just saying how you felt, you sneered, "Get off me Bakashi! I hate you!"   
  
He shook his head lightly.  
  
He knew you were like this, it was just your personality. ~~*cough Tsundere cough*~~.  
  
Tenderly, he spun you around to face him, pulling you to his chest. At home Kakashi didn't dress in ninja gear, just a simple black top. How didn't you notice he was about to go out like that?   
  
He hugged you, arms wrapped around your waist. You felt a tear escape your eye. His relaxing aura immediately made your guard go down, and you exposed your real self.   
More tears found their way down your red, puffy cheeks as you wiped them on his shirt, making it wet. He sighed and rested his head on yours  
  
Your arms, which were limp by your sides managed to grasp his muscular ones in an attempt to straighten your posture. Your legs were giving out and shaking. You were scared out of your mind. Imagining life without the Hokage was terrifying. The prospect of moving on and forgetting him scared you.  
  
Your arms trembled as you returned his embrace, wrapping your arms around him in a gentle way he didn't think you could achieve.  
  
"Listen here, Baka" You began, speaking into his shirt and trying to keep emotion out of your voice but a few sniffs still made it out. You gulped thickly before continuing, "If you go die too..." You were going to let it all out, but you didn't want to admit it the fact you were _also_ afraid of losing him aloud, "I'll kill you again personally, I'll come haunt you as a ghost," That was what you decided on.  
  
He chuckled, the lower part of his chest reverberating,  
"So stubborn, you love me really"  
  
"Shut it"  
  
You could tell he wasn't gonna.  
  
"Also, If you tell anyone about this you're dead"  
  
Kakashi could sense murderous intent.  
  
"Yes ma'am"  
  
 **Shikamaru Nara**  
  
You sat on a bench all alone, watching people pass.  
Some stop and admire the things around them, but most just rushedly go wherever their needed.  
  
Everything had turned hectic after the Third Hokage's death, the park was the only calm place in the whole of Konoha.  
  
Days ago, you had attended the his funeral, but you still found yourself unable to let go completely.   
  
You watched the leaves blow in the wind, swirling around eachother, shinobi headband glinting proudly in the sunlight.   
  
The world was still and time had stopped for a second.  
  
A tear fell from your eye remembering a sentence the Third had said to you and Konohamaru when you were bickering. He didn't have to say it often, it was clear in the playing children in front of you, the ninjas who worked for their states, the towns people who kept everything moving forwards and the elders who shared their wisdom.   
  
" _To those who possess the Will of Fire, everyone is family. The desire to protect ones family builds thicker and stronger bonds between everyone in the village. If the Will of Fire is embraced by everyone, the village will be alright no matter what happens_."  
  
The leaves began swaying again and you could see someone walking towards you.  
  
Shikamaru.  
  
Looking right through him, you continued to stare blankly until you felt a thud! next to you.  
  
Coming out of your daydream, you could see him lazily sitting next to you, not saying anything.  
  
You turned to face him.  
  
"What're you doing here?" You questioned how his lazy ass had somehow got off his couch and to this park.  
  
"Naruto told me you were here, and I decided to come and see you." He stated plainly.  
  
You nodded in response.  
  
Shika didn't like it.  
You were too quiet.  
  
As much as he loved peace and tranquil settings, he loved your bubbly and excited personality more. You always brang the sunshine into the dullness of life.  
  
He sighed before falling back, landing on the bench.   
  
You giggled at this, he was even lazy in public.   
  
Hearing your giggle, he fought a smile off his face, before getting an idea.  
  
He held your wrist softly, tugging you down with him.  
  
You complied.  
  
Slowly, you lowered yourself down to his level on the bench.   
  
He looked up, beginning his session of cloud gazing. He hadn't done this in ages, after all, things had been busy after the Hokage's death.  
  
You settled yourself, hair sprawled at random angles.   
  
A leaf flew and landed on your slightly pink nose. Noticing this, Shika picked it off, letting it fall to the floor,  
"How come you haven't been coming back to the clan's house?"   
  
Shikamaru talked.  
  
Shika never talked first, he was too lazy too initiate anything. You got over the initial shock quickly after realising the question. The truth was, you were grieving. Still.  
  
You couldn't get over it.  
  
You were never going to see the old man again and the thought pierced your heart. Whenever you walked into the Hokage's office, all of his stuff was there, but he wasn't and he never would be again. Yoshino, Shikamaru's mom always seemed to realise when you were upset, and wouldn't leave you alone until you told her why.  
  
She was like a mom to you.  
  
You smiled in fondness when thinking about her, then remembered the question,  
you frowned before answering, "I don't know."   
  
Shika sat up and you followed suite.  
  
He clearly was not happy with the answer.  
  
He gave you a quizzical look before masking how he felt, slumping down at the fact you didn't feel comfortable telling him how you felt.  
  
You, of course noticed. Feeling bad,slumped down too.  
  
Now he felt even worse.  
  
Thinking, 'what a drag', he lifted his left hand and awkwardly patted your head while ruffling your hair before speaking,   
"It's okay if you don't want to tell me, take your time." He stated softly.  
  
Tears filled your eyes at his words.  
  
He was always there for you.  
  
You smiled and wiped your eyes.  
  
To move on you needed to focus on something else.  
  
You chose to focus on Shikamaru.


End file.
